Free to Use and Reuse: Independence Day

American Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, became a federal holiday in 1870. This selection of rights-free pictures can be used to reflect on how the holiday has traditionally been celebrated and also to discuss the complex history and symbols surrounding American Independence.

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  July 4th fireworks, Washington, D.C. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2008. Prints & Photographs Division

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  A Fourth of July celebration, St. Helena Island, S.C. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, 1939. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Thomas Jefferson. Original draft of the Declaration of Independence, 1776. Manuscript Division

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  Float in the Fourth of July parade at Vale, Oregon. Photo by Russell Lee, 1941. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Uncle Sam's birthday, July 4th, 1776-1918: 142 years young and going strong! Poster, 1918. Prints & Photographs Division

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  The Fourth of July: The Day Before. Photo Universal View Co, 1906. Prints & Photographs Division

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  General view of statue looking Northwest. Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York. Photo by Jack Boucher, 1984. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Section Looking South - Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York. Drawing by Craig Strong, 1995. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Declaration of Independence. Poster by B. Martin Pedersen and S.D. Scott Printing Co., 1970-1980. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Children performing the Star Spangled Banner in sign language. (Photo was published in 1918 as "Deaf & dumb children of St. Rita's School, Cincinnati, singing Star Spangled Banner). Photo by J.R. Schmidt, 1918. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Dynamite Fireworks sign, Route 17, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Photo by John Margolies, 1988. Prints & Photographs Division

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  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's, renowned Independence Day (July 4) fireworks display. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2019. Prints & Photographs Division

• China in N.Y., 4th of July Parade. Photo by Bain News Service, 1910-1915. Prints & Photographs Division

• Little girls getting tickets for the merry-go-round at the carnival on the Fourth of July. Vale, Oregon. Photo by Russell Lee, 1941. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July Celebration at Stanley Heirs Park on Kayford Mountain, West Virginia. Photo by Terry Eiler, 1996. American Folklife Center

• The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770, by a party of the 29th Regt. Engraving by Paul Revere, 1770. Prints & Photographs Division

• "Crispus Attucks," by Herschel Levit, mural at the Recorder of Deeds building, Washington, D.C. Photoh by Carol M. Highsmith, 2010. Prints & Photographs Division

• Phillis Wheatley, portrait frontispiece and title page for <em>Poems on Various Subjects</em>. Engraving attributed to Scipio Moorhead, 1773. Rare Book Division

• Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776. Engraving by Waterman L. Ormsby, 1876, after painting by John Trumbull, 1818. Prints & Photographs Division

• Thomas Jefferson, a philosopher, a patriote, and a friend. Aquatint by Mł. Sokolnicki, 1800-1816, after a painting by Tadeusz Kościuszko, ca. 1799. Prints & Photographs Division

• [Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown]. Wash drawing in an extra-illustrated copy of the book <em>Recueil d'estampes ... de la Guerre qui a procuré l'indépendance aux Etats Unis de l'Amérique</em>. Paris, Ponce et Godefroy [1784?]. Rare Book & Special Collections Division

• His Excel: G: Washington Esq: L.L.D. Late commander in chief of the armies of the U.S. of America & president of the Convention of 1787. Mezzotint by Charles Willson Peale,1787. Prints & Photographs Division

• The American Declaration of Independence illustrated. Dominique C. Fabronius, artist. Lithograph by L. Prang & Co.,1861. Prints & Photographs Division

• Official facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. Boston, 1903. Prints & Photographs Division

• A view of the bombardment of Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, by the British fleet, ... Engraving by John Bower, approximately 1819; re-engraved approx. 1905. Prints & Photographs Division

• The Star Spangled Banner. Lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1860-1870. Prints & Photographs Division

• The Star-Spangled Banner. Words by Francis Scott Key. Song composed by John Stafford. Sheet music published by Oliver Ditson, 1918. Music Division

• The Fourth of July in a southern town. Engraving by W.L.S. from a sketch by Horace Bradley, for Harper's Weekly,1888 July 7. Prints & Photographs Division

• A Fourth of July banquet 2,000 feet above the clouds, Mount Hood, Oregon. Stereograph by the Keystone View Co., 1904. Prints & Photographs Division

• July the 4th, 1902. Cover of <em>Puck</em> by L. M. Glackens, 1902. Prints & Photographs Division

• [Fourth of July roadside stand near Milwaukee, Wisconsin]. Photo by John Vachon, 1941. Prints & Photographs Division

• The Human Liberty Bell: 25000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey. Photo by Mole & Thomas, 1918. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July, or American Independence Day, fireworks light up the sky over Denver, Colorado. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2016. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July parade, Watertown, Wisconsin. Photo by John Vachon, 1941. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July Gift. Patriotic song and chorus by Horatio G. King, entitled George Washington. Poster advertisement for the <em>Family Story Paper</em>, [1873-1880?]. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July. Tableau on Ellipse: 'Liberty,' 'Columbia,' and dancers. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1919. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fourth of July. Illustration in <em>Godey's Lady's Book</em>, 1864. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fireworks over Houston, Texas. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, between 1980 and 2006. Prints & Photographs Division

• Takoma Park, July 4th celebration. Photo by the National Photo Co, 1922. Prints & Photographs Division

• Bridgeton, New Jersey. Fourth of July picnic. Photo by John Collier, Jr., 1942. Prints & Photographs Division

• The flag that has waved one hundred years--A scene on the morning of the fourth day of July 1876. Dominique C. Fabronius, artist. Chromolithograph by National Chromo Co., 1876. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fireworks for sale, Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon. Photo by Russell Lee, 1941. Prints & Photographs Division

• Follow the flag. Cover for <em>Puck</em> by W.D. Goldbeck, 1914. Prints & Photographs Division

• American Independence. Lithograph by C.H. Brainard, 1859. Prints & Photographs Division

• [Fourth of July pageant at the American Colony, Jerusalem, showing women wearing red, white, and blue costumes carrying flags and a man and woman dressed as Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty]. Photo from the American Colony (Jerusalem), between 1905 and 1913. Prints & Photographs Division

• The old Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Phila., Pa. Stereograph by Keystone View Co., 1899. Prints & Photographs Division

• Harper's Round Table Fourth of July. Poster by Maxfield Parrish, 1895. Prints & Photographs Division

• July 4th. Photo copyrighted by F. A. Loumis, 1906. Prints & Photographs Division

• Tug-of-war, Fourth of July, on street in Skagway, Alaska. Photo by Frank G. Carpenter, 1900-1916. Prints & Photographs Division

• Fireworks outlet near Decatur, Alabama. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2010. Prints & Photographs Division