Special Feature
Americans celebrate July 4, 1776, adoption of Declaration of Independence
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| Fourth of July fireworks explode high over New York City. (© AP Images) |
The United States celebrates its Independence Day on July 4, a day of patriotic celebration and family events throughout the country. In the words of Founding Father John Adams, the holiday would be “the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance. … It ought to be solemnized with pomp 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.”
Secretary Clinton’s Fourth of July Message
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Publications (by the U.S. Department of State)
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Outline of U.S. History
English | Korean
How the United States has been transformed from its origins as an obscure set of colonies on the Atlantic coast a little more than 200 years ago into what one political analyst terms "the first universal nation."
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USA History in Brief
English
The first title in the new "In Brief" series, this publication summarizes in a few thousand words the history of how the United States was founded and the forces and events that shaped the dynamic and varied country that it has become today.
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Historians on America
English
The first title in the new "In Brief" series, this publication summarizes in a few thousand words the history of how the United States was founded and the forces and events that shaped the dynamic and varied country that it has become today.
Useful Links
• National Archives: The Declaration of Independence
• Library of Congress: The Declaration of Independence
• Facts for Features: The Fourth of July 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau)