Independence Day (United States) Independence Day until 1962. In 1964, the name of the July 4 holiday was changed to Republic Day. Rebild National Park in Denmark is said to hold the largest July 4 celebrations outside of the United States. Independence Day (United States) Independence Day (colloquial: the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states, the United States of America, and were no longer connected to the British Crown. The Congress
Expulsion of the Loyalists Expulsion of the Loyalists During the American Revolution, those who continued to support King George III of Great Britain came to be known as Loyalists. Loyalists are to be contrasted with Patriots, who supported the Revolution. Historians have estimated that during the American Revolution, between 15 and 20 percent of the white population of the colonies, or about 500,000 people, were Loyalists. As the war concluded with Great Britain defeated by the Americans and the French, the most active Loyalists were no longer welcome in the United States, and sought to move elsewhere in the British Empire. The large majority