On July 4th, American flags decorate the country and in many places people invite people to picnics and BBQs. Of course, fireworks are a must. The most patriotic of all American holidays commemorates the declaration of independence from England and thus the founding of the United States of America. How did this come about?
The English monarch had imposed high taxes on the American colonies and American traders were not allowed to trade overseas. The settlers' colonies in the New World were primarily used for exploitation; they also had no parliamentary rights. The citizens of the 13 North American provinces rebelled against the exploitation by the English and demanded more sovereignty, freedom of trade and tax cuts.
The colonists' discontent escalated into the Boston Tea Party, during which the cargo of three ships, namely tea, was sunk in Boston Harbor. The English government then dissolved the Massachusetts Parliament and moved more troops to the colonies. The Americans also began to set up armed militias. On April 18, 1775, the English and colonists met for the first time near Lexington. The settlers' force was led by a member of the Virginia Parliament, George Washington.
Although the American militia emerged victorious from the conflict, the settlers lacked weapons, supplies and training. The colonists fought not only against English soldiers and Indians, but also against paid troops from Hesse and Brunswick. Both sides alternated between exhausting victories and defeats. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress, the citizens' representative body of the 13 states of North America, passed the Declaration of Independence, thereby proclaiming separation from England and the sovereignty of the "United States of America". The author of the Declaration of Independence was the later third president, Thomas Jefferson. Later on, the Americans, supported by the French, became stronger. In 1783, England recognized the independence of the United States.
