The 200-year-old celebration of freedom declared by the colonists in 1776
By Katie Lange
The Fourth of July makes us think of a lot of things: Barbecues. Parades. Fireworks. Supporting U.S. troops. Lots of red, white, and blue bunting. Will Smith’s movie “Independence Day.” Oh yeah, and the freedom that the Founding Fathers declared to the world over 200 years ago.
On that day, years ago, 56 patriots pledged their lives and honor to defend the United States’ rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – a sentiment our current troops still live by.
A boy wears American flag garb on a float in a Fourth of July parade in Vale, Oregon, in 1941. (1) Photo credit Courtesy Library of Congress