Highlights: The United States celebrated its Independence Day as President Trump kicked off the festivities with the America250 campaign, a day before signing a major tax bill into law on Friday.

Known now as a day of patriotism and enjoying time off from work, the Fourth of July began the journey to becoming a quintessential American holiday in 1776, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

The Fourth of July is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States of America every year. On July 4 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which was largely authored by Thomson Jefferson.