Independence Day is really July 2

American Independence was declared on July 2, not July 4. Little of great importance took place July 4, 1776, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, except for the approval of the wording of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. In fact, the most significant occurrence may have been the action of a giant horde of horseflies that invaded Independence Hall.

British soldiers and local militias had been shooting at each other for over a year already and there was only guarded talk of outright independence from Great Britain when Congress met that fateful summer in 1776. Most colonial leaders truly wanted equality with Englishmen, not separation from them.

It was June 7, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia stood before the Continental Congress and called for a clean break from Great Britain. He insisted it was time for the colonies to become “free and independent states.” Many present were sympathetic to those words, but few were daring enough to act on them. To vote yes would be an act of treason, punishable by death. The Congress tabled Lee’s motion for additional study.

When Congress met again July 2, there had been a marked change in attitude. Recent actions by the British had inflamed passions. Lee’s motion for a declaration of independence was brought before the assembly and this time passed without a single dissenting vote.

On July 4, the Continental Congress met for only one item of business. Thomas Jefferson had written an official version of the Declaration of Independence and the delegates were there to debate its content and wording. As the session got under way, the temperature rose. It was humid in Philadelphia that day, and as the delegates wiped sweat from their brows, the windows of Independence Hall were opened in search of a cooling breeze. Instead, an invasion of giant horseflies from a nearby stable descended on the founding fathers and promptly concluded the debate. Jefferson’s declaration quickly received approval as most delegates ran from the building, swatting at horseflies.

Contrary to common belief, the Declaration of Independence was not signed July 4. The signing took place Aug. 2, 1776. Some members couldn’t even attend the August meeting and signed the famous document later - the declaration received its final signature Jan. 18, 1777.

Although we managed to get the date wrong, July 4, 1776, remains an important date in American history, and every citizen should be grateful to the lowly horsefly for making it so. Had it not been for the intervention of horseflies, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, universally recognized as one of the greatest documents ever written, might have been scrambled into political gibberish.

Excerpts taken from Thomas Ayers’ “That’s Not In My American History Book” (c) 2000

Hasco Craver works for the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. He lives in Commerce.