From The Writer’s Almanac, July 4, 2006 (listen):
Today is Independence Day, celebrating the day in 1776 that Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, and the United States officially broke from the rule of England.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in a second-floor room on Market Street in Philadelphia, on a little lap desk that he had designed himself.
Some members of the Continental Congress had hoped that Benjamin Franklin would write the document, but Franklin declined.
John Adams was also considered a possible writer of the document, but Adams gave the assignment to Jefferson because he said, “You can write ten times better than I can.”
Jefferson finished the first draft after a few days work and sent it to Franklin on the morning of June 21, asking for suggestions. Franklin made just a few changes. In the most famous passage, Jefferson had written, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.” Franklin changed it to, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.”
The actual vote for independence came on July 2nd, 1776. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, “The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.” The adoption of the Declaration itself came two days later, on July 4th. At the time, it was considered an afterthought.
But copies of the Declaration were printed and distributed throughout the colonies, and since the document was dated July 4th, that became the date that we now celebrate as the birth of our nation.
The Washington DC Metro has a plan to help iPod-carrying tourists on Independence Day.
They put a map with its Fourth of July schedule and service changes online. The file, dubbed “The Revolutionary Map,” is compatible with any color-screen iPod or Nano and lets users view photos or video.
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