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CELEBRATE JULY 4th - Facts &
Trivia
 Who
Signed the Declaration of Independence?
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence at
Philadelphia representing the new States as follows:
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Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott |
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean |
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton |
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton |
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry |
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Matthew Thornton |
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New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
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New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris |
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
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Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
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Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
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South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton |
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton |
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Here are some tips to make sure your tribute is a respectful one:
Display the flag only between sunrise and sunset on buildings
and stationary flagstaffs. The flag may be displayed for
twenty-four hours if illuminated in darkness.
Do not display the flag in inclement weather.
Whether displaying the flag vertically or horizontally, make
sure the canton of stars is visible on the upper left-hand
side.
Do not let the flag touch the ground.
An unusable flag that is damaged and worn and can no longer be
displayed should be destroyed in a dignified way by burning.
When not on display, the flag should be respectfully folded
into a triangle, symbolizing the tricorn hats worn by
colonial soldiers in the Revolutionary War.
Flag Facts
Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. It is not clear
who actually designed it, but the 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 flag has 13 stripes representing the original 13
colonies (7 red and 6 white). In the upper left corner
is a navy blue field with 50 white stars that represents
the states.
There is no official designation or meaning for the colors
of the flag.
There is no record stating why red, white, and blue where
chosen for the flag. However, when the Great Seal of the
United States was chosen this is what was listed for
them.
white for purity and innocence
red for valor and hardiness
blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice
Folktales says that George Washington interpreted the flag
in this way:
the stars were taken from the sky,
the red from the British colors,
and the white stripes signified the secession from the
home country.
If the flag is flown upside down it signals distress. It
means "I need help, I'm in trouble".
Worn out flags are destroyed, usually by burning.
When flown at half-staff, the flag is raised to the top of
the flag pole then lowered to half-staff. When taken
down, the flag is again raised to the top and then
brought down.
A flag is flown from dawn to dusk. However, it may be
flown for 24 hours if illuminated during the hours of
darkness.
The flag should never touch the ground, the floor, or
water. |
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Let
Freedom Ring
The
Liberty Bell rung July 8, 1776 to announce the adoption of
the Declaration of Independence.
This bell has had quite a history.
On November 1, 1751, a bell was ordered from the Whitechapel
Foundry in England with the intention it should hang in the
State House steeple, now Independence Hall.
September 2, 1752, the bell arrived and March 10, 1753 in was
hung. It cracked while the sound was being tested. The break
was believed to be cause by flaws in the casting.
The cracked bell was melted down and recast by the local
Philadelphia foundry. An ounce and a half to a pound of
copper was added in an attempt to make the new bell less
brittle. The tone of this bell was not liked and so it was
again melted down and recast.
In June of 1753 the bell was hung again but the tone was still
not approved of. A new bell was ordered from England. After
it arrived it was agreed that it sound no better than the
last. The previous bell was left in the steeple and the new
bell was placed in the cupola on the State House roof and
attached to the clock to sound the hours.
Independence Day is the celebration of adoption of the
Declaration of Independence. It was written by Thomas
Jefferson and signed by the Second Continental Congress -
July 4, 1776. This statement gave the colonies freedom from
Great Britain.
Independence Day was first observed in Philadelphia on July 8,
1776. In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a federal legal
holiday.
"It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one
end of this continent to the other, from this time forward
forevermore."
-John Adams |
 The
Presidents of the United States
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1. George Washington, 1789-1797
2. John Adams, 1797-1801
3. Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
4. James Madison, 1809-1817
5. James Monroe, 1817-1825
6. John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
7. Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
8. Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
9. William Henry Harrison, 1841
10. John Tyler, 1841-1845
11. James Knox Polk, 1845-1849
12. Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850
13. Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853
14. Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
15. James Buchanan, 1857-1861
16. Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865
17. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-1877
19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881
20. James Abram Garfield, 1881
21. Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885
22. Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889 |
23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
24. Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897
25. William McKinley, 1897-1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
27. William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923
30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929
31. Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
33. Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953
34. Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
37. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
39. James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
41. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
42. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
43. George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
44. Barack Obama - 2009 - |
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 The
Pledge
of Allegiance
I pledge Allegiance to the flag,
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic,
for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible,
with Liberty, and Justice for all |
The Star Spangled Banner
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we
watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the
rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still
there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of
the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of
the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread
silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze,
o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows,
now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the
gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory
reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the
star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the
land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's
pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and
slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of
the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in
triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued
land
Praise the Power that hath made and
preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for
our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In
God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner
forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave!
Francis Scott Key
(1779 - 1843)
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 U.S.
Facts
Capital: Washington, D.C.
Motto: "In God We Trust"
National Anthem: "The Star Spangled Banner"
National Bird: Bald Eagle
National Flower: Rose |
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The Bald Eagle
Did You Know?
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams & Thomas Jefferson served on the
committee that picked the eagle for the national seal (Franklin
wanted the turkey.)
Bald eagles have few natural enemies & live only in North America.
Bald eagles get their white head & tail feathers about 4-5 years of
age.
The only other kind of eagle in North America is the golden eagle.
Bald eagles mate for life, but if one dies, the survivor will
accept a new mate.
It is a felony to shoot an eagle.
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Firework Safety
Like colored gold dust sparkling high in the sky, watching
fireworks is a 4th of July tradition.
Fireworks contain explosive materials and only experts
should handle them. There are some fireworks available for
public use called "consumer fireworks". These fireworks
include cone fountains, cylindrical fountains, roman
candles, skyrockets, firecrackers, mines and shells,
helicopter-type rockets, certain sparklers and revolving
wheels. Stay away from anything that isn't clearly labeled
with the name of the item, the manufacturer's name and
instructions for proper use. Even these products should be
used with caution and always with adult supervision.
Firework rockets work in a similar fashion to military
rockets. A fuse ignites a combustible substance, which forms
gases that jet out propelling the rocket upwards. Once the
rocket is high in the sky, a second combustible substance
explodes. The explosion releases firecrackers (causing the
bang) and the colored sparkles.
Many different substances go into making fireworks. Coloring
agents include: lithium for red, sodium for gold and yellow,
copper to help create blue, barium for the green (it also
help stabilize volatile elements). Titanium and iron help
produce sparks and sulfur helps to fuel fireworks.
To help you celebrate safely this Fourth of July, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Council
on Fireworks Safety offer the following
safety tips:
Always read and follow label directions:
Have an adult present
Buy from reliable fireworks sellers
Ignite outdoors
Have water handy
Never experiment or attempt to make your own fireworks
Light one at a time
Never re-ignite malfunctioning fireworks
Never give fireworks to small children
Store in a cool, dry place
Dispose of properly
Never throw fireworks at another person
Never carry fireworks in your pocket
Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass container |
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