In the United States, the Fourth of July is time to launch some fireworks and eat some hot dogs in celebration of American independence. But in 1776, when news reached Britain of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the atmosphere was anything but celebratory. A look through letters from the period, now held in the archives of the U.K.’s Nottingham University, shows that British people were divided about the outbreak of war with what was then their colony—over how bad it was, whose fault it was and what to do about it. Here’s Who to Thank for Your 4th of July Fireworks Show.
While you're out celebrating the 4th of July, don’t forget to thank China for supplying the fireworks. Before the Americans officially declared independence, the British were worried about what King George’s response to the unrest there would be. After all, the Declaration of Independence was not the beginning of the American Revolution; the riot-provoking Stamp Act was passed in 1765, the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 and the famous “shot heard ’round the world” that is seen as the start of the war was fired in 1775. One 1775 letter from a group of merchants and traders in the southwestern port city of Bristol sheds light on the economic concerns provoked by the burgeoning revolution. They wrote to the king to express their concern about the “unhappily distracted empires” and urged him to give the American colonists the freedoms they wanted rather than risk a precious trading relationship.
The Japanese economy of the 1920s suffered from a retrenchment after the boom of the First World War. For most of the decade, the real economy remained dull, with low economic growth, mild deflation, and an unsettled financial system.
The U.S.<span> Congress </span>passes<span> the </span>Legal Tender Act<span>, authorizing the use of paper notes to pay the government's bills. ... The </span>Legal Tender Act<span> allowed the government to print $150 million in paper money that was not backed by a similar amount of gold and silver.</span>
