Then we blew stuff up

In a bit of Revisionist History, the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on August 2, 1776, not July 4


Oh for the love of all things good and plenty. Again with these Revisionist Histories? You're going to get us...wait...this one's actually true.


Indeed. So, this coming week is the big Independence Day weekend, (Canada Day for our friends to the North) during which we celebrate everything that represents America. Among those things being alcohol, over consumption, and explosions. While you're blowing up your grill, then lighting fireworks, it's important to remember why we celebrate July 4th. The day we voted to declare independence...the day we signed the Declaration of Independence...the day Congress approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence!

It's quite widely known that the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1776. This was an entirely symbolic gesture, since the Colonies were under British control at the time, and Great Britain did not recognize America's authority to just decide they were a separate country. A whole war ensued, and the United States was not formally recognized as a sovereign nation until May of 1784.

That said, the Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American History, since it was basically America's first foray into the "Up Yours" attitude that makes it what it is today. In fact, the largest section of text in the Declaration is Congress calling out King George III, specifically listing 18 different ways in which he was a jerk (One of them was broken down into 9 sub-sections). We celebrate Independence Day on July 4, but the actual Congressional vote to declare independence took place on July 2 (12 of 13 colonies approved, New York abstained). It took a full 2 extra days after the vote to complete the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, which was printed and distributed on July 4th. This is the last time the United States congress managed to do anything in a mere 2 days.

The actual signing of the document (including the famous "John Hancock" signature) took place after July 4, and historians seem to disagree on the exact date all of the signatures were finally in place. Some of the people who signed were not present at the July 4 Continental Congress, and some hadn't even been elected yet. All that aside, on August 2, 1776, all 56 delegates had signed the Declaration of Independence, and America was born. Happy Independence Month, everybody!


Jeremy Is In The Office will be out of the office from July 1 through July 4. We'll return on Tuesday, July 5 with all new Blaggy Goodness. Have a safe and explosive 4th of July, everyone!