Independence Day's Birth Card: The Jack of Diamonds

How the card is assigned

5 U.S.C. § 6103(a) names Independence Day on July 4. Card Blueprints uses that month and day only. Solar value = 55 − (2 × month + day). December 31 is the Joker. The year is unused. Weekend observed days are ignored.

Coordinate: the Jack of Diamonds. Card meaning page: /birth-card/jack-of-diamonds.

Not the observed weekday

OPM calendars sometimes list a Friday or Monday in lieu of July 4 when that date falls on a weekend. This page does not follow those shifts. The coordinate is the statutory day.

Other fixed holidays on the Jack of Diamonds

No other fixed federal holiday in this set maps to this card.

Independence Day on the record

Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. By doing this, the delegates to the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States. During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Lee Resolution, a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain's rule. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by the Committee of Five, which asked Thomas Jefferson to author its first draft. While Jefferson consulted extensively with the other four members of the Committee of Five, he largely wrote the Declaration of Independence in isolation over 17 days between June 11, 1776, and June 28, 1776, from the second floor he was renting in a three-story private home at 700 Market Street in Philadelphia, now known as the Declaration House, and within walking distance of Independence Hall. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, removing Jefferson's vigorous denunciation of King George III for importing the slave trade, finally approving it two days later on July 4. A day earlier, 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. Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress. Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. By remarkable coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the only two signatories of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as presidents of the United States, both died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.

Summarised from the lead section of the Wikipedia article Independence Day (United States) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Nothing here was written for this page beyond that article. The statutory date comes from 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a), not from this article.

FAQ

What date does Independence Day use?

July 4 — the date named in 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a). Month and day assign the card; the year is unused. Observed weekend shifts are ignored.

What is Independence Day's birth card?

The Jack of Diamonds. That is a coordinate on the Card Blueprints calendar, not a fortune-telling claim about the holiday.

Where do the dates come from?

Primary: 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a) via Cornell LII. OPM federal-holiday calendars are cited for observed-year schedules only and are not the mapping source.

Get your own coordinate

The $9 Deep Dive is a written report for a birthday you enter — not a reading of Independence Day.

Get the $9 Deep Dive