History of the 4th of July: Crash Course US History Special episode transcript - U.S. History by Crash Course

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History of the 4th of July: Crash Course US History Special

From: U.S. History by Crash Course

In which John Green teaches you a bit about the 4th of July. In this special short Crash Course, John celebrates American Independence Day by teaching you how the holiday came to be on the 4th of July, and the many ways that Americans celebrate the day. This is a little different than the normal Crash Course episode, so be prepared.

Full Transcript

History of the 4th of July Crash Course US History Special

speaker01 00:00:00

Hi I'm John Green, this is Crash Course us history and today we're going to talk about July 4, which in the United States is known as Independence Day. This is the day that Americans celebrate our independence from Great Britain by doing what we do best, blowing stuff up, offering significant discounts on mattresses, driving long distances for uncomfortable family interactions, and eating a lot of grilled meat.

speaker01 00:30:00

So the story goes that the founders of this nation signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, parting ways with King George to found the freest, finest nation on the face of the earth. Yeah, except the Continental Congress actually approved a resolution of independence on July 2. The Lee resolution was proposed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia in June 1776. And with a simple legal declaration of separation from England, John Adams got so excited about it that to his wife, Abigail, the second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epic in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival It ought to be solemn with and parade with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more. So.

speaker01 01:25:00

What happened on the fourth? Well, not that much actually. The Declaration of Independence was the formal announcement of Independence, and its text was approved on July 4, 1776, the fancy parchment version, with all the pretty calligraphy wouldn't get drawn up until July 19, and most members of the Congress signed the declaration on August 2, Adams may have been wrong about the date, but he was definitely right about the celebration.

speaker01 01:47:00

Americans started celebrating the fourth th of July as early as 17 th 77th, and as Adams predicted, the holiday was observed with feasts, 13 gun salutes and fireworks. Why don't we call them Illuminations anymore? Stan, you know, people can say like, oh, we put a man on the moon and we can refrigerate our meat now. But I miss the old days. Anyway, in 1778, George Washington celebrated the fourth by giving his soldiers a double ration of rum. And also there was much more shooting than usual, celebrated the anniversary from the beginning.

speaker01 02:15:00

The federal government took its sweet time in formalizing the holiday Independence Day, became an unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870, and became a paid day off in 1000 and 980 4th of July. Provinces have involved over the years, but they generally involved patriotic displays, including decorations, fire, and explosives. Essentially, we celebrate our independence by having a one day fake war each summer, ha.

speaker01 02:42:00

Freedom. Tinnitus Early observances were marked by huge bonfires, but the litigious nature of modern American society has greatly reduced the number of bonfires. However, we still have a lot of fireworks on 4 July. Cities and towns across the country sponsor fireworks displays on the 4th. New York's fireworks displays, the largest in the nation. Despite the grandeur of these officially sanctioned displays, many, many individuals across the nation feel the need to blow stuff up on their own in their yards because, you know, they have all of their fingers. That seems like too many, many states have restricted the sale and personal use of fireworks freedom haters, but would be patriots find their way to marginal neighborhoods every year to buy fireworks out of the backs of vans? In my neighborhood, these personal pyrotechnic celebrations start in about mid May and continue well into August, causing my dog to have a very stressful summer.

speaker01 03:32:00

John Adams prediction about gunfire holds true as well on most military bases, 50 gunshots, one for each state, are fired at noon on July 4 as a salute to the U and in Stan's neighborhood, where you go to buy the fireworks out of the backs of van. Celebratory gunfire is common throughout the year. Here is an actual bullet hole in Stan's actual window. Stan, can we get the liberties again?

speaker01 03:56:00

In the 19th century, many excp one-side i.s. celebrated 4 July by dying. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, and James Madison died on 4 July. In 1831. Calvin Silent Cal Coolidge was born on July 4, 1876, but as he was never demonstrably alive, no one really cares that much.

speaker01 04:15:00

Finally, lest we forget, Americans also celebrate 4 July by eating. Millions of Americans host cookouts to celebrate independence, and the greatest spectacle in professional sports happens every year on 4 July, referring, of course, to the Nathan's Hot dog eating contest. The current world record is 68 hdb's hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. That means the world record holder Joey Chestnut, consumed about 28500 calories in 10 minutes. But don't worry, he threw it up shortly thereafter. So happy Fourth of July from all of us here at Crash Course. We may not celebrate American independence on the right day, but I would argue that in spite of it all, it's still worth celebrating. Thanks for watching I'll see you next week.

speaker01 04:58:00

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. The script supervisor is Meredith Danko, our associate producer is Danica Johnson. Today's show was written by Stan and our graphics team is Thought Cafe. Every week there's a new caption for the liver to if you'd like to suggest one, you can do so in comments where you can also ask questions about today's video that will be answered by our team of historians. Thank you for watching Crash Course. As we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome.