Happy 4th of July from the Collegiate Water Polo Association/Northeast Water Polo Conference/Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) wish all of the leagues’ member institutions, student-athletes, coaches, fans and alumni a happy and safe Independence Day/4th of July.

A few facts about the recognized birthday of the United States:

• During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the 13 Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain’s rule.
• At the time, John Adams believed that July 2, not July 4, would be the date remembered by history. “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America,” Adams wrote in a letter to his wife on July 3 of that year. “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”  Annoyed that Independence Day wasn’t celebrated on July 2, Adams reportedly turned down invitations to July 4 celebrations throughout his life.
• After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. After the Declaration of Independence was adopted, the “Committee of Five,” which consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, was responsible for the reproduction of the approved text. On July 5, Philadelphia printer John Dunlap sent out all the copies he made to newspapers across the 13 colonies, in addition to commanders of the Continental troops and local politicians. The source copy used for this printing has been lost and may have been a copy in Thomas Jefferson’s hand. Jefferson’s original draft is preserved at the Library of Congress, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, as well as Jefferson’s notes of changes made by Congress. The best-known version of the Declaration is a signed copy that is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and which is popularly regarded as the official document. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19 and signed primarily on August 2.
• There were initially hundreds of “Dunlap broadsides,” but only 26 of them survive today. One of the most recently discovered examples was discovered by a Philadelphia man in the back of a picture frame that was purchased at a flea market for $4 in 1989.
• Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.  It is now believed that Charles Thompson and John Hancock were the only two men who actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
• Edward Rutledge was the youngest person to sign the Declaration of Independence at 26 years old, while Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at 70 years old.
• Richard Stockton, a lawyer from New Jersey, became the only signer of the Declaration of Independence to recant his support of the revolution after being captured by the British in November 1776 and thrown in jail. After years of abusive treatment, and his recanting of loyalties, Stockton was released to find all of his property destroyed or stolen by the British. His library, one of the finest in the colonies, was burned to the ground.
• New Hampshire’s signer Josiah Bartlett became famous in the 20th Century as his name was used with a slightly different spelling, for Martin Sheen’s presidential character in “The West Wing.”
• The Syng inkstand used at the signing was also used at the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787.
• George Washington’s reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, led to a riot in New York City, resulting in King George III’s statue being torn down.  The statue was later melted down and used to make tens of thousands of musket balls for the American army.
• Coincidentally, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father who was elected as President, also died on July 4, 1831. He was the third President who died on the anniversary of independence. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872; so far he is the only U.S. President to have been born on Independence Day.
• President Zachary Taylor died in 1850 after eating spoiled fruit at a July 4 celebration. Following his death, Vice President Millard Fillmore became president.
• After the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Secret Service Agent Harry Neal was tasked with transferring “priceless historical documents” to a secure facility away from Washington, D.C. After meeting with librarian Archibald MacLeish at the Library of Congress, Neal orchestrated the logistics of how they would discreetly transport the documents out of D.C. to Fort Knox, which is near Louisville, Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the Gutenberg Bible and the Articles of Confederation were also stored in some of the cases at Fort Knox. The Declaration was returned to Washington, D.C., in 1944.
• Every July 4, descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence tap the Liberty Bell 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies.
• In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
• In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration
• Held since 1785, the Bristol Fourth of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island, is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States.
• One World Trade Center in New York was 1,776 feet tall to mark the year the U.S. declared its independence from Britain.
• The Philippines celebrates July 4 as its Republic Day to commemorate that day in 1946 when it ceased to be a U.S. territory and the United States officially recognized Philippine Independence. July 4 was intentionally chosen by the United States because it corresponds to its Independence Day, and this day was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. In 1964, the name of the July 4 holiday was changed to Republic Day. Rebild National Park in Denmark is said to hold the largest July 4 celebrations outside of the United States.
• In 1958, a history teacher assigned a class assignment to redesign the national flag as both Alaska and Hawaii neared statehood. Robert G. Heft, who was 16 at the time, designed a new flag using the old 48-star flag and $2.87 worth of blue cloth and white iron-on material. His design earned him a B-minus to which he challenged by sending it to Washington D.C. to be considered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. According to his obituary, Heft was one of thousands to submit a flag design but he was the only person who actually stitched together a flag and shipped it to D.C.  Once the flag was selected, Heft’s grade was changed to an A. His design became the official flag in 1960.