Across
- 1. The flag originally had 13; Betsy Ross allegedly arranged hers in a circle — historians still debate if she made it
- 6. The U.S. has had 27 versions of this since 1777; the current design unchanged since 1960.
- 7. The Statue of Liberty's official name references this concept: '___ Enlightening the World'
- 11. The original signers of the Declaration risked execution for treason — 5 were captured by the British
- 12. Angel Studios' superfan community that votes on which projects get made
- 13. The 1776 declaration severed this from Britain — took 8 years of war to make it stick
- 15. The Utah-based studio that lets its fans fund and greenlight films — cutting Hollywood out of the equation entirely
- 17. What the Liberty Bell has been since 1846 after its fatal fracture rendered it permanently this way
- 18. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration — same day, same month
Down
- 2. The flag briefly had 15 before Congress capped it back at 13 — the 15-version inspired the national anthem
- 3. Nathan's Famous holds a competitive eating contest for this food every July 4th on Coney Island
- 4. Angel Studios series that became the highest crowd-funded media project in history
- 5. Bristol, Rhode Island has held the oldest continuous one of these in the US every July 4th since 1785
- 8. On the flag this symbolizes hardiness and valor — though the 1777 resolution never actually assigned color meanings
- 9. The deadly sin the Founding Fathers arguably embodied in abundance, yet somehow made work for democracy
- 10. John Adams predicted July 4th would be celebrated with 'illuminations' — he just meant these.
- 14. Ben Franklin allegedly preferred the turkey; this bird won out for the Great Seal in 1782
- 15. Francis Scott Key wrote it in 1814 watching Fort McHenry — wasn't officially national until 1931
- 16. Americans spend ~$7 billion on July 4th food — most cooked on this backyard staple.