So, yesterday, America celebrated it's Independence Day. America has been having 234 years of special 4 July's, but how many American's realize what they are actually celebrating on this day? Not a whole heck of a lot, if you garner the well wishes on your Facebook page or other internet sites. Seems like everyone's under the impression that a] this is the day in 1776 that we gained our independence from Britain; b] that we've been having 4th of July celebrations since 1776 or c] that this is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. *sigh* On 2 July 1776, the American Colonies finished their declaration of independence; basically, "Hey, England! We don't want you governing us from afar... we want to be independent and separate." And they drew up a document [with beautifully, frilly language] to say just that. THEN, it had to be couriered around to get everyone to sign it. So, by mid-August of that year, The Declaration was off