Download or read book Fourth of July and the Founding of America written by Peter de Bolla and published by . This book was released on 2009-12 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every year on the Fourth of July, Americans, at home and abroad, celebrate the founding of their country. Why has the 4th been so punctual a moment in the nation¿s calendar when the Declaration of Independence was in fact made on July 2nd? On the 4th, the Second Continental Congress completed its discussion of the document Thomas Jefferson had presented. The 56 signatures at the bottom of the document were not signed that day. But after 50 years the day had begun to assume totemic significance. And from then on the story of the developing ritual celebration offers a fascinating window into the history of the U.S. This original book teases out the true history of the day from 1776 through the Civil War, the Cold War and into our own time. Illus.