Independence Day Trivia

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America’s Independence Day is right around the corner. It is a time of celebration for many in the U.S., with grand fireworks displays and tasty backyard cookouts. While you’re celebrating this year, it might be fun to have some facts about the holiday to bring up in conversation. Here are just a few bits of trivia about this holiday:


  1. Fireworks have been a 4th of July tradition since the very beginning, being fired during the first organized celebration in Philadelphia in 1777.

  2. July 4th is the biggest hot dog holiday in the United States. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans consume around 150 million hot dogs on Independence Day.

  3. John Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872, in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. He was the only U.S. president to be born on Independence Day.

  4. Conversely, there have been two presidential deaths on July 4: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 50th observance of Independence Day in 1826, within hours of each other.

  5. Alongside New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, Independence Day became one of the first federal holidays in 1870.

  6. Independence Day could have been on July 2nd if John Adams got his way. This was when the Second Continental Congress declared it would be separating from England.

  7. The U.S.’s iconic national anthem, Star-Spangled Banner, was originally adapted from a British song, The Anacreontic Song, which was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London.


Looking to learn even more about this holiday, or just the history of the United States in general? We here at the Grayslake Library are here to help. Browse the recommended reads for adult and youth readers below, or ask one of our expert staff members to help you find the right book for you.


Adult Titles:


The Words That Made Us by Akhil Reed Amar


Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan


Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow


Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore


1776 by David McCullough


Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis


Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara


Youth Titles:


Lady Liberty’s Holiday by Jen Arena


How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. by Marjorie Priceman


Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus


We Came to America by Faith Ringgold


My Fourth of July by Jerry Spinelli


The Night Before the Fourth of July by Natasha Wing


Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle


Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers


Hoopla July 4th Ebook Collection for Kids


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