Happy Fourth of July

I took this photo yesterday at the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor).

The Fourth of July 2008 From The U.S Census Bureau

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.

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 <http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html>

304 million
The nation’s population on this July Fourth.
Source: Population clock <http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html>