Happy Independence Day, America: Fun Fourth (of July) Facts
Well, America’s 235th Independence Day is upon us, so get out your barbecues, fireworks, suntan lotion, and beverages and (1) gather with your families to commemorate the birth of America and the approval of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. In celebrating the event, Britannica has put together some unusual facts surrounding the holiday (broadly speaking).
* Unfortunate irony: (2) Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The fifth U.S. president, James Monroe, also died on July 4, but in 1831. Yes, that makes three of our 39 presidents who are deceased who died on the country’s Independence Day. What are the odds of that?
* During Paul Revere’s famous ride on April 18, 1775, warning of the forthcoming British soldiers, (3) he was especially looking for just two people—John Hancock and Samuel Adams, since it was thought that the British would be coming to arrest them (Hancock was president of the Massachusetts legislature and Adams a leading revolutionary).
* All it’s cracked up to be: (4) The Liberty Bell was rung not on July 4, 1776, but on July 8, 1776, to celebrate the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. When it was rung in honor of George Washington’s birthday in 1846, it cracked irreparably. Did you know that when British forces entered Philadelphia in 1777, the Liberty Bell was hidden in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, church for safe keeping.
* A toast! The melody for (5) “The Star-Spangled Banner” (click here for instrumental version) was taken from “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a drinking song of a London society. Did you also know that the song, written during the British attack on Fort McHenry, was originally titled “Defence of Fort M’henry”?
*“Ooh, ahh!” (6) Fireworks are believed to have developed out of military rockets. In the European Middle Ages, the military pressed fireworks experts into service to conduct celebrations of victory and peace.
* Hold the mustard: The English word (7) “barbecue” came from the Arawak Indians of the Caribbean. The barbacoa was a grating of green wood upon which strips of meat were placed to cook or to dry over a slow fire.
* A star in the making: Upon her husband’s death in 1776, Betsy Ross took over the family upholstering business. It was there, according to legend, George Washington asked Ross to design and make a flag for the new nation. Speaking of flags, (8) the first unofficial flag of the United States was hoisted at Prospect Hill in Charlestown in Massachusetts on January 1, 1776, and was called the Continental Colours (or, incorrectly, as the Grand Union Flag).
* The tablet held by in the Statue of Liberty’s left hand bears the date July 4, 1776, but (9) the statue itself was presented to the U.S. by France on July 4, 1884. It was dedicated two years later, on October 28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland.
1. What do you already know about America’s Independence Day? Make notes below:
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v
v
v
v
v
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2. What do the numbers below mean in the text? Underline the numbers and write down your answers:
1st _____________________________________________
1st _____________________________________________
1st _____________________________________________
2 _____________________________________________
2 _____________________________________________
3 ______________________________________________
5th _____________________________________________
18 _____________________________________________
1846 ___________________________________________
1884 ___________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Are these facts true or false? Correct the false sentences.
1. Independence Day is a time for celebrating with friends.
2. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington all died on the same day.
3. John Hancock was looking for Paul Revere.
4. The Liberty Bell was first rung on Independence Day in 1776.
5. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was adapted from a song originally from England.
6. Fireworks were not an American invention.
7. The word ‘barbecue’ comes from an American Indian tribe.
8. The first flag of America was seen in Washington DC.
9. France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty in the 19th century.
Well, America’s 235th Independence Day is upon us, so get out your barbecues, fireworks, suntan lotion, and beverages and (1) gather with your families to commemorate the birth of America and the approval of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. In celebrating the event, Britannica has put together some unusual facts surrounding the holiday (broadly speaking).
* Unfortunate irony: (2) Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The fifth U.S. president, James Monroe, also died on July 4, but in 1831. Yes, that makes three of our 39 presidents who are deceased who died on the country’s Independence Day. What are the odds of that?
* During Paul Revere’s famous ride on April 18, 1775, warning of the forthcoming British soldiers, (3) he was especially looking for just two people—John Hancock and Samuel Adams, since it was thought that the British would be coming to arrest them (Hancock was president of the Massachusetts legislature and Adams a leading revolutionary).
* All it’s cracked up to be: (4) The Liberty Bell was rung not on July 4, 1776, but on July 8, 1776, to celebrate the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. When it was rung in honor of George Washington’s birthday in 1846, it cracked irreparably. Did you know that when British forces entered Philadelphia in 1777, the Liberty Bell was hidden in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, church for safe keeping.
* A toast! The melody for (5) “The Star-Spangled Banner” (click here for instrumental version) was taken from “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a drinking song of a London society. Did you also know that the song, written during the British attack on Fort McHenry, was originally titled “Defence of Fort M’henry”?
*“Ooh, ahh!” (6) Fireworks are believed to have developed out of military rockets. In the European Middle Ages, the military pressed fireworks experts into service to conduct celebrations of victory and peace.
* Hold the mustard: The English word (7) “barbecue” came from the Arawak Indians of the Caribbean. The barbacoa was a grating of green wood upon which strips of meat were placed to cook or to dry over a slow fire.
* A star in the making: Upon her husband’s death in 1776, Betsy Ross took over the family upholstering business. It was there, according to legend, George Washington asked Ross to design and make a flag for the new nation. Speaking of flags, (8) the first unofficial flag of the United States was hoisted at Prospect Hill in Charlestown in Massachusetts on January 1, 1776, and was called the Continental Colours (or, incorrectly, as the Grand Union Flag).
* The tablet held by in the Statue of Liberty’s left hand bears the date July 4, 1776, but (9) the statue itself was presented to the U.S. by France on July 4, 1884. It was dedicated two years later, on October 28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland.
1. What do you already know about America’s Independence Day? Make notes below:
v
v
v
v
v
v
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. What do the numbers below mean in the text? Underline the numbers and write down your answers:
1st _____________________________________________
1st _____________________________________________
1st _____________________________________________
2 _____________________________________________
2 _____________________________________________
3 ______________________________________________
5th _____________________________________________
18 _____________________________________________
1846 ___________________________________________
1884 ___________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Are these facts true or false? Correct the false sentences.
1. Independence Day is a time for celebrating with friends.
2. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington all died on the same day.
3. John Hancock was looking for Paul Revere.
4. The Liberty Bell was first rung on Independence Day in 1776.
5. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was adapted from a song originally from England.
6. Fireworks were not an American invention.
7. The word ‘barbecue’ comes from an American Indian tribe.
8. The first flag of America was seen in Washington DC.
9. France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty in the 19th century.
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