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What happened on July 4 in American history
July 4 is the 185th day of the year (the 186th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 12 stories from July 4 spanning 1776 to 2009. Among them: in 1776, Congress votes: these colonies are free and independent states; and in 1802, West Point opens; the republic trains its own officers at last.
1776
Congress votes: these colonies are free and independent states
Jefferson's declaration passes without dissent; Dunlap's print shop runs off copies tonight for readings across the region.
1802
West Point opens; the republic trains its own officers at last
A small class of cadets enrolls under superintendent Jonathan Williams on ground above the Hudson the Continental Army has held since 1778.
1803Member story · 1776 Club
Jefferson tells the nation: Louisiana is ours, bought from France for fifteen million dollars
The deal hands America New Orleans and the full Mississippi valley; the country's size has nearly doubled in a stroke.
1827Member story · 1776 Club
New York ends two centuries of slavery; the last enslaved people in the state are free today
Slavery first took root here under Dutch rule in New Amsterdam, and many New Yorkers choose to mark the moment a day late, celebrating with a parade on July 5.
1831Member story · 1776 Club
Children at Park Street Church sing Smith's new hymn to a British royal tune
A 22-year-old seminary student wrote the stanzas in half an hour after spotting the melody of "God Save the King" in a German songbook.
1863Member story · 1776 Club
Lee turns south on July 4; his wagon train of wounded stretches twenty miles through the rain
More than 20,000 casualties and an empty magazine behind him, the Army of Northern Virginia quits Pennsylvania soil and heads for the Potomac.
1894Member story · 1776 Club
Dole proclaims the Republic of Hawaii; Cleveland's rebuff leaves annexation on hold
A year after sugar planters toppled Queen Liliʻuokalani, the provisional government writes its own constitution and names Dole president.
1946Member story · 1776 Club
Roxas and McNutt sign in Manila; the Philippines is a republic after 381 years of foreign rule
The Treaty of Manila ends U.S. sovereignty over the islands, with Roxas sworn as the new republic's first president.
1950Member story · 1776 Club
Radio Free Europe cuts through state silence; first uncensored signal reaches Czechoslovakia
More than 16 million Americans funded the effort, raising $1,317,000 through a campaign fronted by Dwight Eisenhower for the CIA-backed National Committee for a Free Europe.
1960
50-star flag rises over Fort McHenry; Hawaii's star joins the banner at last
Eisenhower ordered the new design the moment Hawaii's admission was official last August, and the flag now flying above Baltimore carries the pattern for all 50 states.
1997Member story · 1776 Club
Pathfinder bounces to a stop on Mars; first American images from the surface in twenty-one years
Airbags, parachutes, and retrorockets deliver the probe to Ares Vallis; the lander sat silent through the Martian night before transmitting at sunrise.
2009Member story · 1776 Club
Lady Liberty's crown opens again; first visitors climb the narrow stairs for the Fourth
Closed since Sept. 11, 2001 over evacuation concerns, the observation deck admits just 425 people a day after a multi-year renovation.
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