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00:00 Introduction
01:29 Explaining 4th July
02:05 The history of Independence Day
04:03 The Boston Tea Party
05:43 The French Influence
06:20 The most famous passage
08:49 Phrases related to the celebration
12:48 How to learn more
Here is the Thanksgiving podcast:
https://youtu.be/xp--TdCU9GIHere is a great video by @CrashCourse that explains the American Revolution:
https://youtu.be/HlUiSBXQHCwHere is a summary of the Boston Tea Party by @TED-Ed :
https://youtu.be/1cT_Z0KGhP8Here are some visuals of how Americans celebrate the 4th by @Brazidicas :
https://youtu.be/kbGqFJF9Xv8?t=93Here is a summary from Wikipedia with that quote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)Here's a list of the 13 colonies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_ColoniesHere are the lesson notes:
- 4th July is the national holiday of the United States
- It’s to commemorate (remember and celebrate) the declaration of Independence of the United States from the British monarchy - King George the Third - on July 4th, 1776
- There were 13 colonies of the United States under the rule of King George
- Leading up to this, Great Britain and France had fought a war in various territories, including, North America
- This had been costly - expensive - and new taxes were introduced in the colonies to help pay back these debts
- The Stamp Act was introduced in 1765 and another act in 1767. This led to unrest, especially, in Boston, so the British sent troops (soldiers) to help the situation
- But it only made it worse. People didn’t like British soldiers on the streets and this led to the Boston Massacre
- The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a key event too. Now, this wasn’t a fun tea party where people had tea and biscuits. Instead, a group called Sons of Liberty protested a new tea tax by dumping tea from three ships into Boston Harbor.
- Tensions kept growing and in 1775 the British planned to capture two colonial leaders. However, American spies got wind of this (which means, they learned about this), and 77 militiamen met British forces and it was here where the American Revolutionary War began.
- Not everyone wanted independence but the Continental Congress decided to vote for this and Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence
- The second sentence is the most famous
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.:
Self-evident = obvious - doesn’t need to be explained
All men are created equal = heavily influenced by French Philosophers such as Voltaire - Thomas Paine from England had a big influence here too
Endowed by their creator = given by God
Unalienable rights = unable to be taken away
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
American won the war (with help from the French and the Spanish) and became an independent nation.
By a remarkable coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the only two signatories of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as presidents of the United States, both died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration
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Celebrations:
National Holiday in the U.S.
- Thanksgiving is the other big holiday. That is a formal family get-together with a sit-down meal of Turkey, Potatoes, Vegetables etc. (listen to the podcast on that)
- Fourth of July is more informal
- Barbecues
- Friends
- Summer - outside parties
- Bring something for the grill and a side or two
- hot dogs and burgers
- Apple pies
- Corn on the cob
- Beer
- Clothing
- Red, white, and blue
- American flags everywhere
- Water slides if weather permits
- Fireworks - downtown when dark
