Hello, Class!  Today we are forgoing our usual discussion of Physical Therapy topics, and honoring Independence Day with a bit of American History (thanks to Wikipedia). 

"During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author.  Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4.  A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

"The second day of July, 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America.  I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.  It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized 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."

Adams' prediction was off by two days.  From the outset, Americans celebrated Independence on July 4. In a remarkable series of coincidences, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two founding fathers of the United States and the only two men who signed the Declaration of Independence and later became presidents, died on the same day:  July 4, 1826, which was the United States' 50th anniversary."

God Bless America,

Karen