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First event
thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting -
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Different celebrations
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Second Event
General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France -
July 4
In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5 -
Massachusetts General
the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration -
The Psalm of Joy
Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled "The Psalm of Joy". -
independence day
the first recorded use of the name "Independence Day" occurred