Should we really be celebrating America's birthday on The Fourth of July?

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER OF 1776

· June 1776—a committee that includes Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams is given the task of drafting a declaration of independence. (Thomas Jefferson does most of the writing and is therefore given credit as its author.)

· July 2, 1776—the 2nd Continental Congress declares the colonies independent. (This is the date that many of the founding fathers, including John Adams, considered America’s Independence Day.)

· July 4, 1776—Congress approves the final version of the declaration presented by the committee. Only two delegates sign this document.

· July 19, 1776—It is ordered that an official copy of the declaration be created on parchment. The order calls for handwritten ornamental script to be used. It is also ordered that all members of Congress are to sign this official document.

· August 2, 1776—John Hancock, along with forty-nine other delegates, puts his now famous signature on the official document. (Five members of Congress sign later that same year and one delegate, Thomas McKean, does not sign it until 1781.)