The Independence Day tradition dates nearly as far back as the country’s beginning and was proposed by one of the Founding Fathers.
It’s hard to imagine Independence Day without fireworks. But how did this tradition get started?
As it turns out, setting off mini-explosions of all shapes and colors (but particularly red, white and blue) on July 4 goes back almost as far as American independence itself.
John Adams Predicts Celebrations
Fireworks have a long and colorful history, but the story of how they became ubiquitous on July 4 dates to the summer of 1776, during the first months of the Revolutionary War. On July 1, delegates of the Continental Congress were in Philadelphia, debating over whether the 13 original colonies should declare their independence from Britain’s Parliament as well as King George III himself.
That night, news arrived that British ships had sailed into New York Harbor, posing an immediate threat to the Continental troops commanded by George Washington. On July 2, delegates from 12 colonies voted in favor of independence (New York would follow suit on July 9) and the motion carried. On July 3, even as Congress revised a draft of the declaration composed by Thomas Jefferson, an excited John Adams took up his pen to write to his wife, Abigail.
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America,” Adams wrote. “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival…It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
Adams was off by a couple of days.
First Organized Celebration Held on July 4, 1777
On July 4, after making a total of 86 (mostly small) changes to Jefferson’s draft, Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, though most of the delegates didn’t even sign the document until August 2. Some impromptu celebrations greeted the declaration’s first public readings on July 8, in front of local militia troops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but the first organized celebration of Independence Day would take place in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777.Play Video
“Yesterday the 4th of July, being the anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America, was celebrated in this city with demonstrations of joy and festivity,” reported the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 5, 1777. “About noon all the armed ships and gallies in the river were drawn up before the city, dressed in the gayest manner, with the colors of the United States and streamers displayed.”
After each ship’s cannon fired a 13-gun salute (in honor of the 13 colonies), the festivities continued, including an elegant dinner, a military demonstration and a performance by a Hessian band. “The evening was closed with the ringing of bells,” the Evening Post reported, “and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated.”
Did you know? Adams lived to see exactly 50 years of American independence. On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence, he died at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, just five hours after Jefferson’s death in Virginia.
Adams’s hometown of Boston saw its own fireworks display that July 4th, as Colonel Thomas Crafts of the Sons of Liberty took the opportunity to set off fireworks and shells over Boston Common. In the years to come, various cities continued the tradition of celebrating independence, holding picnics, parades, speeches and fireworks displays for the occasion, though Boston was the first to designate July 4 an official holiday (in 1783).
War of 1812 Inspires Broader Celebrations With Fireworks
By the time Independence Day celebrations really took off after the War of 1812 (another conflict pitting the United States against Britain), fireworks were even more widely available. They would become an increasingly important part of the festivities in the years to come, as public safety concerns caused cannon and gunfire to be gradually phased out of celebrations.
In 1870, Congress established Independence Day as an official holiday. By 1898, a reporter would note that “the American Fourth of July is the greatest event the maker of firecrackers knows,” historian James Heintze recorded in The Fourth of July Encyclopedia.
As every July 4 brings numerous fireworks-related accidents, some causing injuries and even deaths, many cities and states would pass bans on different types of pyrotechnics; Adams’s native Massachusetts, for example, now bans all consumer fireworks. Despite these safety concerns, Americans spend somewhere around $1 billion on fireworks each July 4, allowing for a nationwide celebration of independence John Adams would surely have appreciated.
How Are Fireworks Made?
9 Fascinating Facts About Fireworks
Fireworks are a July 4 staple. / Toshe_O/iStock via Getty Images
Every 4th of July, many Americans celebrate their nation’s independence with barbecues, family, and a fireworks display. Whether it’s a few small poppers ignited in the backyard or an elaborate show at a local park, lighting up the night sky with color and sound has become a tradition—not only for Independence Day, but sporting events and other public gatherings as well.
If you’re curious about where fireworks come from, how they became associated with holidays, and when consumers go a little too big, we’ve got your primer here.
1. Fireworks originated in ancient China.
You need to turn back quite a few pages in the history books to find the origin of fireworks. As best as anyone can tell, the explosive amusement was developed in the 2nd century BCE in Liuyang, China. Bamboo sticks thrown into bonfires would make a “pop” noise when the air inside the bamboo’s cavities heated up. (Baozhu, the Mandarin word for firecracker, means “exploding bamboo.”)
Sometime between 600 and 900 CE, a mix of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal—saltpeter, or rudimentary gunpowder—was poured into bamboo or paper tubes. When ignited with burning tissue paper, they caused an even bigger bang. The addition of steel or cast-iron shavings to the saltpeter made them sparkle. Old iron pots would also be crushed into sand and mixed with gunpowder. The Chinese used these to commemorate births, deaths, and other occasions. By the 15th century, Europeans were using the mixtures to celebrate both religious and secular events.
2. Not all fireworks shoot skyward.
Fountain-style fireworks remain on the ground and shoot sparks out of a paper mortar. Catherine wheels are fountains arranged in a ring attached to a pole; when they’re lit, the thrust of the fountains causes the ring to spin. Sparklers are simply wires coated in metallic fuel (aluminum or magnesium), oxidizer, and binding material that will burn and then fizzle.
3. There’s a trick to how fireworks can change colors in mid-air.
Fireworks can change colors in mid-air. / golero/iStock via Getty Images
How can fireworks actually shift their shade in mid-air? It’s pretty simple. The stars, or pellets, are coated in multiple metal salts. After burning through the outer layer—like magnesium, giving off white sparkles—the second layer is ignited, emitting a different hue.
4. One state has totally banned consumer fireworks.
Because fireworks can be dangerous, disruptive, or both, some states have laws on the books limiting their use. Illinois, Ohio, and Vermont permit only wood or wire stick sparklers. And if you live in Massachusetts, you’re completely out of luck—no fireworks of any kind are allowed to be used by consumers. Professional displays are still OK, however. On the other hand, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas have relatively lenient regulations for consumer-grade fireworks.
Some states, like Indiana, mandate that fireworks can be used only between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on non-holidays. For the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or New Year’s Eve, you can go wild and set them off until midnight.
5. Legal fireworks give you enough time to get out of their way.
Not all fireworks are legal. / SKatzenberger/iStock via Getty Images
What makes fireworks legal or illegal? The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) instigated a “fuse burn time” standard that legal fireworks need to meet. Typically, consumer-grade fireworks must have a fuse burn time of between three and nine seconds so users can get away from the fireworks before they go off. Legal fireworks are also limited to containing 50 milligrams of pyrotechnic material.
6. San Diego accidentally set off all its fireworks at once.
In one of the more memorable public fireworks displays, the city of San Diego, California, had a mishap during their 4th of July celebration in 2012. The annual Big Bay Boom fireworks show was supposed to take place over 18 minutes, with a carefully orchestrated series of detonations. Instead, thanks to a computer error, it went off in just 15 seconds.