A misquote but a funny one.
Here's another that was actually said:
“The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
— John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776
1776 filled the calendar with dates deserving of remembrance and even celebration. John Adams, delegate from Massachusetts to the Second Continental Congress, wrote home to his wife Abigail that future generations would celebrate July 2, the date the Congress voted to approve Richard Henry Lee’s resolution declaring independence from Britain for 13 of the British colonies in America.
Two days later, that same Congress approved the wording of the document Thomas Jefferson had drafted to announce Lee’s resolution to the world.
Today, we celebrate the date of the document Jefferson wrote, and Richard Henry Lee* is often a reduced to a footnote, if not erased from history altogether.
Quote of the moment: John Adams, celebrating the 2nd of July
*Richard Henry Lee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Henry Lee was the fourth great uncle of Robert E Lee, who was reportedly born in the same room as R.H. Lee. :- )