Happy Fourth of July! Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1776, declaring the United States independent from Great Britain.

Did you know the Declaration of Independence was signed by only one person, John Hancock, on July 4, 1776? Most of the remaining 55 delegates of the Second Continental Congress signed the document the following month, on August 2.

Want to learn more about the founding of the United States? Here are some resources:

For more information on the Fourth of July holiday, visit the Wikipedia page regarding Independence Day.

Visit the official U.S. site to learn more about the Declaration of Independence. There is more information on the Wikipedia page about the Declaration of Independence.

Want to learn more about our Constitution? Visit the official U.S. site for the U.S. Constitution.

To learn more about the other "Primary Documents" of our country, visit the Library of Congress, Primary Documents Web links:

• Declaration of Independence
  
• U.S. Constitution
  
• The Bill of Rights
  
• The Federalist Papers
  
• Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789
  
• Guide to American Historical Documents Online
  
• Charters of Freedom from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
  

For information on our nation, visit the official "Government Made Easy" Web site.

Are you a statistics person? Check out the Federal Stats page.

Here are some sites where you can locate government "watchdog" groups: Wikipedia List Activisim.net List

Need a patriotic quote? Visit Wikiquote.

Here are some quotes to ponder:

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.
Samuel Adams

An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow-citizens.
Thomas Jefferson

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain