I thought it was a toss up between the declaration and the Constitution. I voted for the Constitution because it was a more interesting choice.
I’m more or less in @Dr.Drake’s POV. Lots of people declare things in seriousness and not, but the actuality is more important than the Declaration IMHO.
Therefore a more appropriate choice (to me) would have been September 3, 1783 with the Treaty of Paris but…
Most people treat the 4th of July as our “Founding” holiday, rather than just Independence. In that sense, the ratification of the Constitution is best choice. So that was my vote, but if I went with the most strict interpretation of the poll, yeah, September 3rd.
^This.^ July 4th was the day it was announced, not passed. Jefferson thought the 2nd would be the day of celebration and was surprised when it was the 4th instead.
The engrossed copy of the Declaration, the one we’re all familiar with, was signed over a period of time, mostly on August 2nd but a few as late as September.
The copy that was sent to George III was signed only by Hancock and Thomson, the secretary to the congress.
Well, that’s what you get when you write “July 4th 1776” in big letters across the top of your document.
I don’t think the actual date matters much. Independence Day is (ideally) a day to commemorate and celebrate all of the events in the poll, and the country in general.
Any of the dates would have worked for this purpose. July 4th is by now so entrenched in our national identity that it seems pointless to argue over its calendric accuracy at this point.
New to the internet, are ya?
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Porthos: You know, it strikes me that we would be better employed wringing Milady’s pretty neck than shooting these poor devils of Protestants. I mean, what are we killing them for? Because they sing psalms in French and we sing them in Latin?
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Aramis: Porthos, have you no education? What do you think religious wars are all about?
Restaurant dessert:
If the event is “going out to dinner” then we usually get dessert, too. And maybe i don’t get my own but negotiate a taste of someone else’s, it maybe I’m hungry enough to order my own. But we’ll usually do a dessert course.
If the event is “we need to get a meal between dance sessions” or “we’re picking up takeout instead of cooking” or “we’re going to a show and it’s convenient to grab dinner nearby”, then basically never.
So it really depends why I’m eating out. I guess i travel a lot, and a large fraction of my restaurant meals are associated with travel, and i generally don’t get dessert with any of those.
How about March 4, the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s first inauguration in 1801? It was the first time that power transferred from one party to another, peacefully.
(Personally, I will stick with July 4. Inertia works for me.)
I don’t really care about the date. Come on, what’s next, we’ll celebrate Christmas on Jesus’ birthday?
This is exactly why we do and should celebrate the birth of the United States on July 4th. It’s the date on the nation’s birth certificate.
Yep. Several other dates could have been chosen, but they settled on the 4th, very early.