50 Fun Facts About Fourth of July for Kids

Which food do contestants race to eat at the Fourth of July contest on New York's Coney Island?

Hot dogs have been the challenge at the Nathan's Famous restaurant there most years since about 1972.

Which material covers the Statue of Liberty, turning from shiny brown to green as it aged?

Copper reacts with air and water, and the green layer that formed actually protects the statue from more damage.

Which future president wrote most of the Declaration of Independence in about 17 days in June 1776?

Thomas Jefferson was picked for the job by a committee of five, and Congress then edited his draft before approving it.

The Liberty Bell, a famous symbol of American freedom, is best known for which flaw?

A large crack appeared sometime in the first half of the 1800s, and nobody knows for certain when or how it happened.

In which country were fireworks invented, many centuries before the United States existed?

China had fireworks by the Song dynasty, which began in the year 960, and people there had long tossed bamboo into fires to make loud bangs.

From which country did the American colonies declare their independence on July 4, 1776?

Great Britain did not give up the fight until 1783, after eight years of war.

Which bird, pictured on the Great Seal since 1782, is the national bird of the United States?

Bald eagle is a misleading name, because the bird has a full head of feathers; bald once meant white-headed.

Which Declaration of Independence signer wrote so large that his name now means a signature?

John Hancock was president of the Continental Congress, and his name is the only one not grouped with a state's delegates.

According to legend, which seamstress sewed the first American flag with stars and stripes in 1776?

Betsy Ross has no records from the time to back her story, which her descendants made famous about a century later.

What did American colonists dump into Boston Harbor in 1773 to protest a tax?

Tea filled more than 300 chests, and the protesters needed about three hours to tip it all into the water.

How many American colonies joined together to declare independence from their ruler in 1776?

13 colonies made the break, and the flag still carries one stripe for each of them.

Which general led the Continental Army and later became the first president of the United States?

George Washington took command in 1775, a full year before independence was declared.

Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a gift of friendship?

France built the statue at home, then shipped it across the ocean in crates to be put together in New York.

In which city did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776?

Philadelphia's Pennsylvania State House hosted the vote, and the building is now known as Independence Hall.

Which kite-flying inventor was, at age 70, the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence?

Benjamin Franklin was 44 years older than the youngest signer, Edward Rutledge, who was just 26.

Which bearded character in a star-covered top hat stands for the government of the United States?

Uncle Sam may be named after Samuel Wilson, who supplied food to American soldiers in the War of 1812, though the true origin is unclear.

Which color are both the top stripe and the bottom stripe of the American flag?

Red starts and ends the rows because the stripes take turns and there is an odd number of them.

Which handheld firework is a thin stick that burns slowly while throwing off bright, colored flecks?

Sparkler tips burn at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, far hotter than boiling water, so they need careful handling.

Which Boston silversmith made a famous midnight ride in 1775 to warn that enemy troops were coming?

Paul Revere became a folk hero decades later, thanks to an 1861 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Which department store has sponsored New York City's Fourth of July fireworks show since 1976?

Macy's set off its first fireworks in 1958 to celebrate the store's 100th birthday.

Which state's admission in 1959 added the fiftieth and newest star to the American flag?

Hawaii joined only months after Alaska, so the 49-star flag made for Alaska had a very short life.

Which lawyer wrote the words of The Star-Spangled Banner after watching a fort being bombed in 1814?

Francis Scott Key wrote it as a poem, and it did not become the official national anthem until 1931.

Which song about a man riding a pony was first sung to make fun of American colonial soldiers?

Yankee Doodle is older than the United States itself, and today it is the official state song of Connecticut.

Which monarch ruled over the American colonies when they declared independence in 1776?

George III had already declared the colonies to be in rebellion in August 1775, almost a year before the Declaration.

Which conflict, fought from 1775 to 1783, won the American colonies their independence?

The Revolutionary War began more than a year before the Declaration was adopted and lasted eight years in all.

The Declaration of Independence names three rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of what?

Happiness was a fresh choice of word, since similar lists by earlier thinkers had ended with property.

Which baked dessert appears in a popular saying about things that are typically American?

Apple pie is not American by birth, having been eaten in Europe long before the colonies existed.

Where do Americans place their right hand while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag?

Over the heart is the rule in the Flag Code, which also asks people to stand at attention and face the flag.

Which neighbor of the United States celebrates its own national birthday on July 1?

Canada marks July 1 because three colonies joined into one country on that day in 1867.

On which planet did NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft land on July 4, 1997, carrying a small rover?

Mars got a Fourth of July visitor in Pathfinder, whose little rover Sojourner was the first to work beyond the Earth and Moon.

Which travels far faster than sound, so a firework is seen bursting before its boom is heard?

Light arrives almost at once, while sound needs about three seconds to cover each kilometer, so distant fireworks boom late.

Which nickname was given to colonial militia members trained to be ready to fight almost instantly?

Minutemen made up about a quarter of the whole militia and took extra training so they could turn out fast.

Which founding document, written in 1787, opens with the famous words "We the People"?

The Constitution was written eleven years after the Declaration, and in the very same building.

Which word names the 200th birthday that the United States celebrated on July 4, 1976?

Bicentennial events ran for more than a year, starting in April 1975 and building up to the big day.

Which tree names a firework burst whose long-burning gold trails droop like weeping branches?

Willow bursts are a slow-burning cousin of the chrysanthemum, a firework named after a flower.

Which weapons are traditionally fired during the 1812 Overture at Boston's Fourth of July concert?

Cannons boom along with the Boston Pops orchestra, which has played its fireworks show beside the Charles River since 1974.

Which Roman leader, born in the month now called July, had that month named in his honor?

Julius Caesar received the honor in 44 B.C.; before that the month was called Quintilis, meaning fifth.

Which nickname for the American flag was first used by sea captain William Driver for his own flag?

Old Glory flew from Driver's ship on voyages as far as the South Pacific before the name spread to every American flag.

On which material was the official signed copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten?

Parchment was ordered by Congress on July 19, 1776, and a clerk named Timothy Matlack probably did the careful handwriting.

Which colony, begun at Jamestown in 1607, was the oldest of the colonies that declared independence?

Virginia had been a colony for 169 years by 1776, far longer than Georgia, the youngest, which was founded in 1732.

Which future president expected July 2, when Congress voted for independence, to be the big holiday?

John Adams told his wife the day would be marked with parades, games, bells and bonfires; he got the party right but missed the date by two days.

Which president, born in Vermont in 1872, is the only one with a Fourth of July birthday?

Calvin Coolidge was born in the village of Plymouth Notch and became the 30th president in 1923.

Which Asian country became independent from the United States on July 4, 1946?

The Philippines kept July 4 as its Independence Day until 1962, when the holiday moved to June 12.

Which small state is home to Bristol, whose Fourth of July celebration has run since 1785?

Rhode Island's town of Bristol holds the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the whole country.

Which ingredients, packed into fireworks, make them burn in different colors such as green and gold?

Metal salts each burn with their own color, just as they do in a science-class flame test.

Which rarely seen American banknote shows the Declaration of Independence on its back?

The two-dollar bill has carried the scene since 1976, copied from a famous painting by John Trumbull.

American colonists hated paying taxes while having no elected members in which lawmaking body?

Parliament sat an ocean away, and colonists argued that taxes such as the Stamp Act were unfair without a voice there.

Which nickname went to a woman said to have carried water to soldiers at the Battle of Monmouth?

Molly Pitcher is usually said to be Mary Ludwig Hays, who took over loading her husband's gun when he fell.

Which building in the nation's capital displays the signed Declaration of Independence?

The National Archives has shown the Declaration since 1952 in a round hall called the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.

Which city's Fort McHenry flew the flag that inspired The Star-Spangled Banner in 1814?

Baltimore's harbor fort was shelled for about 25 hours, and the flag still flying afterward showed that it had not fallen.