Answer:
1. JOHN ADAMS REFUSED TO CELEBRATE JULY 4TH AS INDEPENDENCE DAY.
We recognize July 4 as the Declaration of Independence’s data because it’s the day it was adopted. However, the actual vote for independence occurred on July 2, 1776. President Adams would not recognize the fourth as a result and refused invitations to July 4th celebrations. Coincidentally, both he and President Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
2. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WASN’T SIGNED ON JULY 4, 1776.
While the Declaration of Independence was adopted and finalized on July 4, 1776, the majority of the other signers actually signed it on August 2, 1776. One reason is that it took nearly two weeks after it was endorsed for the document to be “engrossed” (written on parchment in clear handwriting). Another reason it took so long to be signed is that New York’s delegates didn’t receive authorization to sign until July 9, 1776.
3. RICHARD HENRY LEE PROPOSED THE BILL FOR INDEPENDENCE.
Richard Henry Lee proposed the Lee Resolution to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776, and they were seconded by John Adams. It was the earliest form of a declaration of independence. In them, Lee famously declared: “That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States.” After many heated debates, Congress delayed the vote for approval of the Lee Resolution and decided to reconvene on July 1, 1776.
4. THOMAS JEFFERSON DIDN’T WRITE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ALONE.
While Jefferson was the primary author, he wasn’t alone in writing the Declaration. The Committee of Five was appointed on June 11, 1776, to draft a formal statement for the colonies’ case for independence. The committee members were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.
There were a total of 86 edits to Jefferson’s original draft by the time of its approval on July 4, but the famous Preamble remained untouched.
Writing The Declaration of Independence
5. THE VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE WAS NOT UNANIMOUS.
When the Lee Resolution was brought again before the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, twelve colonies adopted it with New York abstaining. On July 4, only nine colonies voted in favor of adopting the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No, Delaware was Undecided and New York Abstained.
Explanation:
