In a July 3 letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams wrote that the day the Continental Congress voted to approve America’s Declaration of Independence (July 2) would be “the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”
“It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
For 250 years, America has done exactly that, celebrating not only our Independence, but also rededicating ourselves to the American experiment in self-governance.
