EverPhoenix wrote:so voting happened earlier, signing happened later... whats the significance of the 4th? is it a happy average? or did some important guy say some words or start writing up the declaration?
excuse my ignorance, but history was never my strong suit, and it was never a mandatory subject.
After it was initially voted upon, there were numerous revisions, which finally were resolved and widely publicized on the 4th.
==AMERICA TRIVIA==
Our Flag
The national flag of the United States of America (the American flag) consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the "union") bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union.[1] Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory,[2] and The Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the national anthem).
Our National Anthem
The Star Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry",[1] a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.
The poem was set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"). This tune, with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand...") added on more formal occasions. In the fourth stanza, Key urged the adoption of "In God is our Trust" as the national motto ("And this be our motto: In God is our Trust").[2] The United States adopted the motto "In God We Trust" by law in 1956.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem,[3] also served as a de facto anthem before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner."[4] Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them "The Star-Spangled Banner."
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Post subject: Independence Day
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