Our History of Freedom: How much do you know?

Editor's Note: The following article gives a snapshot of the history of America's journey to independence. It includes facts that are also answers to some of the questions in the Island Breeze Independence Day Quiz below.

In June 1776 Henry Richard Lee of Virginia drafted a resolution of independence that he hoped the Second Continental Congress would adopt.

The resolution was adopted on July 2. The congress appointed a committee of five, headed by Thomas Jefferson, to draft a letter to King George of England informing him that the colonies henceforth would be a free and independent nation.

On July 4 the committee presented their draft to the congress, which approved it with a few minor adjustments.

The day before it was approved, and the day after independence was declared, John Adams wrote 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."

Although the congress adopted the document on July 4, the signing was completed on Aug. 2 - a month after the resolution of independence had been adopted. At the signing Benjamin Franklin remarked, "Gentlemen, we shall all hang together or, most assuredly, we will hang separately."

The U.S. Constitution was adopted by the Congress of the Confederation on Sept. 17, 1787, 21 years after the Declaration of Independence. The last of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution and make it the law of the land was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790.

The annual celebration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence began in 1777, in Bristol, R.I. with a 13-gun salute. In the battle for independence that followed the declaration of it, Gen. George Washington marked the day with a double ration of rum for his troops, and an artillery salute.

The celebration of the day had been ongoing for more than a century before the federal government declared it a national holiday - without pay - in 1870, almost a hundred years later. It was 1938 before a U.S. Congress made it a paid holiday for federal employees.

Today we celebrate the Fourth of July in many ways. Family reunions, picnics in the park, parades, fireworks, watermelon seed spitting contests, greasy pig catches and greasy pole climbing, visits to the beach, hot dog eating contests - there are probably as many ways of celebrating our independence as there are communities across the land.

Politicians also use the day to meet and greet constituents who often gather in large groups. Red, white and blue buntings and flags flutter in the breeze. Main streets in many towns and cities, including Port Isabel and South Padre Island, feature row on row of American flags.

It's a holiday to reflect upon who we are as a people, think about where we came from, and look back over the road we have traveled as a nation.

This year South Padre Island will sponsor a beach parade and fireworks. Laguna Vista plans its usual family picnic in the park. And Port Isabel will celebrate the accomplishments of a hometown boy who realized his dream of a career in professional football, Juan Castillo.

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Island Breeze Independence Day Quiz

1. After losing New York City to the British, which river did George Washington and his men cross on Christmas Day in 1776 in a prelude to a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison?
a. Hudson River
b. Potomac River
c. Connecticut River
d. Delaware River

2. What happened on July 4, 1776?
a. The first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought.
b. The Second Continental Congress declared independence from Britain.
c. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
d. The Declaration of Independence was signed.

3. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
a. Benjamin Franklin
b. George Washington
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. John Adams

4. The Second Continental Congress met in which city to draft the Declaration of Independence?
a. Boston, Mass.
b. New York, N.Y.
c. Baltimore, Md.
d. Philadelphia, Pa.

5. Which of the following was not one of the 13 original colonies?
a. Georgia
b. Virginia
c. Vermont
d. Massachusetts

6. Which of the following European powers did not fight on the side of the colonists in the Revolutionary War?
a. Spain
b. France
c. The Netherlands
d. Germany

7. Which of the following did not sign the Declaration of Independence?
a. Samuel Adams
b. Benjamin Franklin
c. John Hancock
d. George Washington

8. Which two presidents died on July 4, 1826?
a. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
b. Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe
c. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington and John Adams

9. When was the Stars and Stripes authorized by Congress as the national flag?
a. June 14, 1777
b. Sept. 23, 1776
c. July 4, 1777
d. Jan. 1, 1778

10. Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?
a. John Philip Sousa
b. Francis Scott Key
c. Katharine Lee Bates
d. Samuel Francis Smith

11. According to legend, which of the following women sewed together the first American flag?
a. Dolly Madison
b. Martha Washington
c. Eleanor Roosevelt
d. Betsy Ross

12. The "midnight ride" of which American patriot was later immortalized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?
a. John Hancock
b. Samuel Adams
c. Joseph Warren
d. Paul Revere

13. Who said, "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately?
a. John Adams
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. John Hancock
d. Benjamin Franklin

14. What resolution actually occurred on July 2, 1776, declaring the formal break from Great Britain?
a. Lee Resolution
b. Independence Resolution
c. Jefferson Resolution
d. Deliverance Resolution

15. According to the Declaration of Independence, where does government get its power?
a. From its Constitution
b. From its military
c. From the elected representatives
d. From the consent of the governed

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Quiz Answers:

1. Delaware River (d)

2. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress. (c)

3.  Thomas Jefferson (c)

4. Philadelphia, Pa. (d)

5. Vermont (c)

6. Germany (d)

7. George Washington (d)

8. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (c)

9. June 14, 1777 (a)

10. Francis Scott Key (b)

11. Betsy Ross (d)

12. Paul Revere (d)

13. Benjamin Franklin (d)

14. Lee Resolution (a)

15. From the consent of the governed (d)