DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - It is often interpreted that all members of the Continental Congress were in one room to sign the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. 

But there are some things about that time in history people might not know.

Independence Day was technically on July 2

John Adams believed Independence Day should have been on July 2 - the actual day of the Continental Congress voted for independence. Historians said the written document was dated on July 4, but it wasn't signed until the Aug. 2. 

Three presidents died on the 4th

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted. James Monroe, the fifth president, died a few years later. 

Holiday nearly 100 years later

The U.S. Congress in 1870 made Independence Day into a federal holiday. On 1941, it was expanded into a paid holiday for federal employees.Â