What does the 4th of July mean to you?
Well, it all started when England helped the colonists defeat the French and their Native American allies, allowing the English to expand westward to the Mississippi River and south to the Gulf od Mexico. When the English levied taxes against the colonists to fund this war--since it had been fought for their benefit--the colonists decided that they hated England, and that they no longer wanted to be part of the British empire. A group of rich colonists who shared a belief that rich people should not have to pay taxes decided to write a document called the Declaration of Independence, and send it to the king of England, thus starting the war for the independence of the English colonies in America.