USA Celebrating 240th Anniversary of Independence Day

• 07.04.2016, 17:08
•  America,  Info,  No-politics

conservativeangle.com

Today the United States celebrates the 240th anniversary of its independence from Britain with a national holiday full of picnics, parades and fireworks across the country.

What would come to be known as the Revolutionary War had been going on for about a year at that point, and would continue until 1783 when the Treaty of Paris formally recognized the U.S. states as sovereign and independent.  The treaty is also part of the National Archives collection.

The July 4th holiday includes a traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the Archives.  Inside the building, the original document is prominently displayed along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the public to see, The Voice of America writes.

"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," it says, laying out some of the founding principles of the nation.

More than anything, the declaration is a sharp rebuke of Britain's King George, calling him a tyrant and saying he has repeatedly ignored the pleas of the American colonies for better treatment. 

Shortly after the reading, a parade attended by thousands of people begins in front of the building on Constitution Avenue and stretches 10 blocks to the west, ending just after passing between the White House and a monument to the first U.S. president, George Washington.

However, it’s the last Fourth of July at the White House for President Barack Obama and his family, and they’re having some people over: military families and two of the president’s favorite performers, singer-songwriter Janelle Monae and rapper Kendrick Lamar.

The Democratic president and his wife, Michelle, invite military families each year for a barbecue, concert and view of the fireworks, The Washington Post reports.

If rain forecasted Monday night in Washington holds off, they will have a good view of the city's major fireworks display on the nearby National Mall.