

Image taken from the engraving printer William J. Stone in 1823. The original document is also available, though badly faded.

Today is the Fourth of July, and you know what that means, right? Of course you do, which is why the burgers are prepped (Protip: make a small indentation with your thumb in the middle and they won't balloon up on the grill, tempting you to flatten the flavor out with your spatula), Ladder Ball is setup in the backyard, and your big box of fireworks is at the ready.Of course we owe this holiday to our founding fathers who penned the Declaration of Independence that was officially adopted on July 4, 1776. The rest is history, and here we are 235 years later still celebrating that day.If you've never read the Declaration of Independence before, now is as good of a time as any, and lucky for you, this historic document is available both for reading and as a high-resolution download at the U.S. government's archives site . It's here where you'll also find the Constitution of the United States (as depicted in our thumbnail photo, lest anyone accuse us of not knowing the difference) and the Bill of Rights, as well as learn more about each one.And with that, we'd like to extend our wishes to all HotHardware readers who celebrate the holiday to have a safe and wildly eventful Fourth of July!