July 4th Confusion
Americans celebrate July 4th as the Birthday of The United States of America. That date was chosen because it is the date that Thomas Jefferson signed the document that a group of men gathered together in Philadelphia, wrote that declared that the thirteen colonies of Great Britain located on the North American continent were free. Well, as we know, Britain didn't just say, "oh, o.k. we're outta here." It took eight years of war, with thousands of battle deaths on both sides and thousands more dying from diseases before America became an independent country. The American Revolution officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783 . The actual fighting part of the war had ended nearly two years earlier, on October 19, 1781, when British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown. It would be until 1870 that Congress would officially declare July 4th as a national holiday to celebrate our independ