4th of July Federal Holiday

Why 4th of July? The actual draft for the declaration of independence was submitted on 2nd July; why then was this day chosen as the official federal holiday? It was on this day that the Continental Congress approved the final draft. And this is the date that was mentioned on the final draft of the declaration that was officially circulated.

The day wasn’t observed with the kind of fervour it is done today during the initial years. It was only in the 1800’s that the people began to observe the day as symbolic of their freedom. In fact it was more than a hundred years later in the year 1870 that the Congress declared 4th of July as a national holiday. Subsequent legislations related to the holiday were passed in the years 1939 and 1942.