All of July 3rd (and much of the 4th) was spent editing the draft of the Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the Committee of Five: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.

Thomas Jefferson wrote an initial draft, but much work was done before the final Draft was presented for signature on the 4th of July.

Leave me a comment: What does the 4th of July mean to you? Is it an important holiday? How do you celebrate it? Do you have any special memories of the 4th? Please share your stories with all of us.

Want to test your knowledge of 1776? Here are a couple of trivia questions. See if you can answer without looking it up,then post your answer on the web site.

Answers to July 2 Trivia Questions:

Historians have come to the conclusion that Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. Do you know who designed it?

Answer:  Experts at the Betsy Ross House suggest it was Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The American Navy was almost nonexistent in 1776. John Paul Jones received his first command in May of that year. What ship did Jones first captain?

Bonhomme Richard

Alfred

Providence

Constitution

Answer: Providence. Jones went on to gain fame as skipper of the Bonhomme Richard and to utter his historic rebuke, 'I have not yet begun to fight'.

What was the first date in history when the term “United States of America” was used and read in a public document?

July 1, 1492

July 3, 1776

July 4, 1776

July 5, 1812

Who was the oldest person to sign the Declaration of Independence?

On this date in 1776

On July 3, 1776, British troops landed on Staten Island. Over a period of six weeks, British troop strength was increased so that it number over 32,000 by the end of August. Meanwhile, General Washington was preparing his men as well as he could under the circumstances. Washington was hampered by the British control of the sea, which allowed them to conceivably attack either Long Island or Manhattan. Washington decided to defend both vulnerable areas.