 Independence Day. It's more than the 1996 Academy Award-winning film. Welcome to Earth. In America, Independence Day is a day of celebration where we celebrate the day that we declared our independence from Great Britain. And it is celebrated every year on July 4th. In honor of Independence Day, I would like to read you a letter written by John Adams to his wife. Hello, John Adams. Sonner of the Declaration. Second President of the United States. Paul G. Amade lookalike. He says in part, The second day of July, 1776, will be a memorable spea- It says the second day of July. That's a typo. It's not. Okay, let's jump back. The signing of the Declaration of Independence was not the start of a revolutionary war. After the Seven Years' War, Parliament in the Crown decided that the colonies should start having to pay their fair share in the war debt. So they started imposing heavy taxes on the colonies. Well, the colonists didn't like this. I mean, after all, hating taxes is about as American as Apple Pie. Which is kind of a weird statement because Apple Pie has its roots in Europe, and actually apple trees aren't even native to the Americas. It would, if you were going to go with the native, probably go with like corn or tobacco, say something like, Oh, this is as American as smoking a cigarette. But that, that sounds, that doesn't sound as good. Anyway, the American Revolution actually started in 1775 at Lexington and Concord with the shot heard around the world. Of course, it took a long time for that shot to be heard around the world because, you know, they didn't have Twitter. The Second Continental Congress met in 1776. And on July 2nd of that year, the Lee resolution was approved, which declared America's independence from Britain. Now, there was arguing over the wording for the next two days until July 4th when the final wording was approved. Now you're probably going, Hey, you just wasted a lot of my time in your kind of right. And I'm sorry. But what you think of as the Declaration of Independence was not signed until August 2nd. The original Declaration document didn't look all that impressive. And when declaring independence, much like when you're looking for a new job, you want to look your best. On July 19th of 1776, Congress ordered an embossed version that wasn't officially signed until August 2nd. This is the version that can be found at the National Archives in DC. Remember, 18th century, no internet, no FedEx. There's a bit of back and forth on which one of the declarations is the official one. But I think we can all agree with John Adams that Independence Day ought to be solmonized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forever more. So regardless of what day it should be celebrated on, I hope you enjoy your Independence Day. And I hope this video helps you be a little bit more pretentious at that barbecue. Or don't be. No, I don't really care. I'm going to the beach. Alright, keep it down. I don't need to wear pants. They can't see that I'm not wearing pants.