Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Picnics, barbecues, fireworks, parades and a day off from work. That is what has become, for most of us, the modern-day meaning of the Fourth of July.

July 4 is more than that. It’s about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the historic document that laid the groundwork for this great nation’s promises of freedoms and unalienable rights. It’s about our nation’s sons and daughters, who throughout our history have given their lives for those freedoms. It’s about others becoming American citizens and having the opportunity to live the American Dream.  It’s about our roots.  

But with each passing year, we see the holiday lose a little more of that meaning. Sadly, Fourth of July celebrations today are rarely how we remember them from our childhoods.  

So take some time out today. Put aside the worries of gas prices, foreclosures, and the economy and reflect back to your most notable Fourth of July celebration. In that spirit of looking back, we hope you will also enjoy this look back at the history of our independence.

A Chronology of Notable Fourth of July
Celebration Occurrences :

• 1776 The Pennsylvania Evening Post is the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence, and on July 8, one of the first of two public readings was given by John Nixon. The other was held the same day in Trenton, N.J.
  

• 1781 The first official state celebration as recognized under resolve of a legislature occurs in Massachusetts; in Newport, R.I., the militia hosts French officers at a celebration dinner.
  

• 1791 The only Fourth of July address ever made by George Washington occurs in Lancaster, Pa.
  

• 1804 The first Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi occurs at Independence Creek, Idaho, and is celebrated by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
  

• 1808 Citizens of Richmond, Va., resolve that only liquor produced in this country will be drunk on the Fourth of July.
  

• 1817 Near Rome, N.Y., a groundbreaking ceremony occurs for the construction of the Erie Canal. Only four original signers of the Declaration of Independence are alive on this anniversary: Thomas Jefferson of Virginia; John Adams of Massachusetts; Charles Carroll of Maryland; William Ellery of Rhode Island.
  

• 1849 The first Fourth of July celebration ever held in Sacramento takes place.
  

• 1861 President Abraham Lincoln sends an address to both houses of Congress regarding the suspension of federal government functions by secessionists in the south; Galusha A. Grow is the only Speaker of the House of Representatives ever to be elected and take office on the Fourth of July.
  

• 1881 In Washington, D.C., the chief of police issues an order banning all fireworks in response to the shooting of President Garfield while, at the same time, prayer meetings for the president's recovery are held in lieu of Fourth celebrations throughout the country.
  

• 1887 First Fourth of July celebration in Yellowstone National Park takes place.
  

• 1906 Believing that Oklahoma is now a state, many towns in the U.S. fire 46-gun salutes.
  

• 1912 The new national flag with 48 stars is "formally and officially endowed."
  

• 1926 The 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence takes place throughout the nation.
  

• 1930 Gutzon Borgium's 60-foot face of George Washington, carved on Mount Rushmore's granite cliff in South Dakota, is unveiled.
  

• 1942 Fireworks in most cities are canceled due to war blackouts in place; three "liberty" ships are launched in Baltimore; in Philadelphia, at the site of the Liberty Bell, 200 young men are inducted into the armed forces; in New York, at a service of the "Eternal Light," flags of the allied nations are displayed in a colorful “V” for victory and 408 air raid sirens are sounded at noon; in Washington, D.C., "civilian protective forces" are put on alert in case of emergency.
  

• 1945 In Berlin, the Stars and Stripes are hoisted over the Adolf Hitler Barracks in a formal ceremony there, to the sound of a 48-gun salute.
  

• 1960 The 50-star American flag waves for the first time as Hawaii is given statehood.
  

• 1976 The nation's bicentennial occurs. At 2 p.m., the time the Declaration of Independence was originally approved, churches and people throughout the nation ring bells to mark the occasion; "Operation Sail" takes place in New York, where millions watch a parade of hundreds of ships, representing no less than 22 nations; in Boston, the USS Constitution fires her cannons, the first time in 95 years; the largest number of American flags (10,471) ever flown over the U.S. Capitol in one day, for the purposes of sales and gifts, occurs; a 13-month long wagon train consisting of 2,500 wagons traveling across the country arrives at Valley Forge, Pa.; At Fort McHenry in Baltimore, a re-enactment of the historic bombardment takes place while citizens feast on a 69,000- pound birthday cake; President Ford gives a speech at Valley Forge, Pa., and at ceremonies at Independence Hall in Philadelphia; the Miami Beach Convention Center is converted into a Federal court room in order to naturalize 7,241 persons, the largest group to be naturalized at one time in the history of the country.
  

• 1980 Throughout the country, the Fourth is "observed amid somber reminders" of the 53 American citizens held hostage in Iran as residents in Cleveland plant 53 trees in their memory.
  

• 1992 The seven astronauts in the space shuttle Columbia unfurl the Stars and Stripes and chant "Happy Birthday America" from space.
  

• 2007 This is a day for citizenship ceremonies: 1,000 persons from 75 countries take citizenship oath at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; 51 individuals take citizenship oath at the William Paca House in Annapolis; at Camp Victory in Iraq, 161 soldiers are naturalized as American citizens and U.S. commander General David Petraeus and Sen. John McCain address those assembled there; 76 persons are sworn in at Monticello. At 2 p.m., all U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships ring 13 bells in honor of the 13 original states; a wreath laying ceremony takes place at the tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon; at Fort McHenry, a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, fife and drum concert, and an artillery salute, takes place; due to dry weather conditions, fireworks are cancelled in Breckenridge, Colorado, Burbank, California, and other locations; all across the country, U.S. soldiers are honored in parades and ceremonies.