Fun Facts about the USA This July Fourth

On July 4th in 1776, the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked with red, white and blue flags, fireworks, parades and backyard barbecues across the country.

Let's talk about the early colonial days…

The early colonists came from many different countries, and the American revolutionaries of English descent wanted to secure the support of the German and French settlers who also found homes in the New Country, and also from Germany and France. German and French forces were instrumental in the fight for American independence.  

There was the philosophical belief among most of the Founding Fathers that, in a democracy, the government should not be telling people what they should or shouldn't say, or in what language they should say it.

And though English was certainly the language of a majority in the young nation, many other languages were spoken and encouraged, coast to coast.

Fun Facts:

2.5 million - In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation. [Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970]

318.4 million - The nation's estimated population on this July Fourth 2014. [Source: U.S. and World Population Clock]

60 million - People in the U.S. today speak a language other than English at home. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office]

38 million – About two-thirds the 60.6 million people who speak a language other than English at home speak Spanish. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office]

381 languages – Are commonly spoken in the U.S. today with the most popular being Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office]

6 languages - In addition to English and Spanish, there are six languages spoken at home by at least 1 million people: Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, German and Korean. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office]

176 languages - Are indigenous used by Native Americans or indigenous island languages such as Hawaiian and Samoan. [Source: Wikipedia]

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in 1831

Happy Fourth of July!

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