The 4th of July.
Whata great day is the 4th of July! In the morning the bells are set a-ringing and guns are fired. During the day, the people get together, and some one makes a great speech to them.
This is called independent day. Do my readers know why the 4th of July is thus noticed? Perhaps not—so I will tell them.
A great many years ago, our country was ruled by the king of England. The people did not like this; they wished to be free; to govern themselves in their own way, and live as they pleased.
Accordingly, a great dispute arose between the people of our country and the king of England. The people said they would not obey the king, and the king said they should obey him. He sent his armies over here to compel the people to submit.
All this made a great ferment in the country. A great battle took place at Bunker Hill, near Boston, on the 17th of June, 1775, and hundreds were killed on both sides. It is on account of this battle that the monument is erected there, the completion of which was so beautifully celebrated on the 17th of last June. A great many of my readers, no doubt, saw the splendid procession, on that occasion, consisting of the president of the United States, and the governor of Massachusetts, and many other distinguished men; several thousand soldiers; the members of a great many societies; together with a great many other persons. It was indeed a splendid sight.
Although the king of England sent his soldiers to fight our forefathers, they were not frightened. They mustered armies, and sent them to fight the British armies. They also sent some of their wisest men to Philadelphia to consider the state of things and determine what was best to be done.
On the 4th July, 1776, these wise men determined that it was best for the country to be free. They therefore sent forth a famous paper, called theDeclaration of Independence. This sets forth the wrongs which the country has suffered at the hands of the king of England, and declares the solemn purpose of the American people thenceforward to become a free, sovereign and independent nation.
The people received this declaration with joy. They celebrated it with bonfires, and music, and processions, and rejoicings. Ever since that day, the 4th of July, being the day in which this declaration was passed by the congress at Philadelphia, has been noticed as a day of rejoicing. It is considered the birth-day of our national independence, and as such, it is regarded as our great national anniversary.