Happy 4th of July

Wishing everyone a very safe and

Happy 4th of July!

The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall

 on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public

reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national

pride and unity, adopted the national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the

United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white;

that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The first public Fourth of July event at the White House occurred in 1804.

The first Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi

occurred at Independence Creek and was celebrated by Lewis and Clark in 1805.

The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, 

when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who

provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were

 stamped with the initials, U.S.  Someone joked that the initials

stood for “Uncle Sam”.  This joke eventually led to the idea of

Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government.