July 4, 1776, was the day early American leaders signed the Declaration of Independence and ended the colonies' political relationship with Britain.
1776年7月4日，早期的美国领导人签署了独立宣言，结束了这片殖民地与英国的政治关系。
Right?
是这样吗？
Well ... the real story is a little more complicated.
嗯，真相更为复杂一点。
It starts a year and a half earlier, in April 1775, when American colonists began fighting with British soldiers. At the time, most colonists just wanted more independence, not complete independence.
早在一年半前，也就是1775年4月，美国殖民地居民开始同英国士兵作战。当时，大多数殖民地居民只是想要更加独立，而不是完全独立。
But as the fighting continued, public opinion changed. By the summer of 1776, more and more people supported a complete break from Britain.
但是随着战斗的进行，民意变了。到了1776年夏天，越来越多人支持同英国彻底决裂。
In June, the colonial government met in Philadelphia.
这年六月，殖民地政府在费城会面。
One of the representatives, Richard Henry Lee from Virginia, called for a vote on whether the colonies should declare their independence.
来自弗吉尼亚的代表理查·亨利·李（Richard Henry Lee）呼吁就殖民地是否应该宣布独立进行投票。
The other delegates were not ready to vote. But they agreed to allow five people to write a statement about why the colonies were seeking independence.
其它代表还没做好投票的准备。但是他们同意让五人撰写一份关于殖民地为何寻求独立的声明。
On July 2, nine of the thirteen delegates finally voted to accept Lee's proposal for independence.
7月2日，十三名代表中的九名代表最终投票决定接受李提出的独立的建议。
A delegate from Massachusetts, John Adams, wrote to his wife that future citizens would celebrate July 2 for years to come.
来自马萨诸塞州的代表约翰·亚当斯（John Adams）写信给妻子说，未来公民以后将会在7月2日庆祝。
Two days later, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the writing committee presented their Declaration of Independence. The delegates adopted it, and the president of the colonial government, John Hancock, signed it in large letters.
两天后，托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）和撰写委员会的其他人士发表了他们的独立宣言。代表们通过了这份宣言，殖民地政府主席约翰·汉考克（John Hancock）以大号字体签署了这份宣言。
But most of the other delegates did not sign the Declaration of Independence until a few weeks later. Some did not sign it until the following year. And some men who signed it had not even attended the vote in Philadelphia.
但是大多数其他代表直到几个星期之后才签署独立宣言。有些人直到下一年才签署。还有一些签署者甚至没有参加费城投票。
Historian Ray Raphael challenges many American historical myths. Raphael says early American leaders did not discuss celebrating the anniversary of the colonies' independence until it was too late. On July 3, 1777, they agreed to honor July 4 as America's birthday.
历史学家雷·拉斐尔（Ray Raphael）质疑很多美国历史神话。拉斐尔表示，早期美国领导人并未讨论庆祝这片殖民地的独立纪念日，直到为时已晚。1777年7月3日，他们同意把7月4日尊为美国的诞辰。
For well over 200 years, most Americans have marked the day with patriotic and family celebrations.
两百多年来，大部分美国人把这天作为爱国和家庭聚会的日子。
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)