Episode – 2189 : The History of the 4th of July Celebrations
Podcast Transcript
Few dates carry as much significance in the United States as July 4th, but the celebration of the date has evolved over time.
July 4, 1776, was not a day of celebration across the country, as nobody outside of Philadelphia knew what had happened.
Just one year later, it was being celebrated and has been ever since for a quarter of a millennium.
Learn more about the history of the celebration of the Fourth of July on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The first Fourth of July in 1776 wasn’t celebrated at all.
While Jefferson had written the Declaration of Independence by late June, the Second Continental Congress still needed to pass Richard Henry Lee’s resolution of independence, which was passed on July 2.
The language of the Declaration of Independence was agreed upon late in the afternoon on July 4, 1776. After consensus was reached, it needed to be printed at John Dunlap’s shop and distributed across the colonies.
It was first read in Philadelphia, then in New York on July 9, and in Boston on July 18. It didn’t reach Virginia until late July and the southern colonies until August. When it was read aloud in the summer of 1776, it was met with roaring approval and celebration.
After it was read in New York, the crowd was so enthusiastic that they marched to a nearby two-ton statue of King George III, pulled it down, and had it melted into more than 40,000 units of ammunition for the war effort.
Full-on celebrations on July 4 had to wait until 1777, when the holiday was commemorated as a day of remembrance. The reason July 4 was celebrated instead of July 2 is that it was the date printed on the document everyone read.
This holiday was more somber than its modern incarnations, as the Revolutionary War was still in full swing.
The Philadelphia Evening Post reported that the day’s proceedings included a ringing of the city’s bells and a 13-gun salute at a time of powder shortage. The newspaper described demonstrations of joy and festivity.
The Massachusetts state legislature officially recognized the day as a state holiday in 1781. The legislation called for public rejoicing, a bold move because the Revolutionary War was not over. Rejoicing in 1781 meant local ministers reading the Declaration to their parishes, prayer, a feast among friends, and bonfires, as gunpowder could not be spared.
The holiday’s importance grew significantly after the war ended and George Washington became president. The day was often marked by speeches amplifying the virtues of American democracy. Parades became a Fourth of July tradition, serving as a visual representation of the nation’s struggle and highlighting veterans’ sacrifice.
The early politics of the republic were quite acrimonious, with politicians attacking one another with a ferocity that would make modern politicians blush. Tension was so great that violence nearly erupted at competing events in New York in the wake of the widely condemned Jay’s Treaty during the festivities in the summer of 1795.
As the nation migrated to a system based on political parties, the factions George Washington warned about in his 1796 farewell address compromised the unity of the Fourth of July. In the wake of Washington’s retirement, competing factions held separate celebrations.
Historian Michael Hattem noted that Democratic-Republican parades, especially in the North, heavily featured artisans and workers, while Federalist-controlled processions were organized in a more hierarchical fashion and led by the most important people in town.
The War of 1812 had significant implications for commemoration of the Fourth of July. The outbreak of war fueled a new wave of nationalism that cemented the holiday in American identity and strengthened unity.
The war also changed how the event was commemorated. Before the War of 1812, cannons and guns were fired in salute. As they had during the Revolutionary War, local officials sought to conserve gunpowder. Instead of firing heavy artillery, citizens were asked to place candles in their windows for a quiet public illumination. For spectacle, lower-grade powder packed into tubes with iron filings was ignited to shoot brilliant showers of golden sparks into the night sky.
The War of 1812 also provided the soundtrack to the holiday. The attack on Fort McHenry, chronicled by Francis Scott Key in The Star-Spangled Banner, became a vital part of the nation’s collective identity.
A particularly somber July 4 occurred in 1826, when both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day, coincidentally the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The two men had fallen out after the election of 1800, only to renew their friendship decades later.
A generation later, the national trauma of the Civil War interrupted the holiday’s impact. During the conflict, Confederate newspapers urged readers to ignore the holiday. Stores stayed open, parades were canceled, and there were no fireworks. At its core, the Fourth of July is a holiday about the creation of America and the union of the 13 colonies into a republic—ideas that ran against secession.
In 1863, two of the most significant Union victories of the conflict converged on the Fourth of July. On the morning of July 4, word spread that the Union Army had repelled Robert E. Lee’s advance into the North at Gettysburg the day before. Simultaneously, General Ulysses S. Grant took control of the Mississippi River as the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg surrendered, severing the Confederacy in two.
The grueling 47-day siege of Vicksburg was such a devastating blow that local citizens refused to celebrate the Fourth of July for the next 81 years.
It wasn’t until after the Civil War, in 1870, that the Fourth of July was declared an official federal holiday.
America’s Centennial celebration in 1876 provided an opportunity to turn the page and reclaim the unity central to the holiday. President Grant called for a day of reflection and gratitude.
The Centennial celebration coincided with the end of post-Civil War Reconstruction, a period marked by division and tension. Reconstruction had not solved the challenges of integrating formerly enslaved people into the United States despite constitutional amendments advancing citizenship. Violence was breaking out across the South, including the Hamburg Massacre in South Carolina, which began over a July 4 parade.
The central event of the Centennial was the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The fair captivated more than ten million people, and organizers hoped to show a United States that had put the Civil War behind it.
Visitors were treated to innovations such as the typewriter, Heinz ketchup, the telephone, and the massive Corliss steam engine. One of the most spectacular attractions was the Statue of Liberty’s right arm and torch. Fairgoers could climb inside the torch for a fee, with proceeds helping cover the cost of the statue’s base.
The Centennial transformed the Fourth of July into a truly national event. At midnight, Philadelphia debuted the Centennial Bell, drawing tens of thousands into the streets. Amid train whistles and fireworks, Pennsylvania Governor and Union veteran John Hartranft shook hands with Virginia Governor James Kemper, who had been wounded fighting for the Confederacy at Gettysburg. The symbolic handshake drew an enthusiastic response.
Moments later, the grandson of founding father Richard Henry Lee read the original parchment of the Declaration of Independence. It marked the last time the document would leave Washington.
A century later, the 1976 Bicentennial was filled with events that attracted national attention. Unlike in 1876, the celebration could truly be national thanks to television.
In New York City, Operation Sail brought 16 historic tall ships up the Hudson River as an estimated six million people watched them sail past the Statue of Liberty. Journalist Walter Cronkite called it the grandest birthday party in the history of the world.
The Bicentennial Commission of Pennsylvania organized a wagon train in which thousands of covered wagons crossed the country from west to east and converged on Valley Forge. Historian Marc Stein described it as Manifest Destiny in reverse.
Train enthusiast Ross Rowland Jr. organized the Freedom Train, a traveling museum of American artifacts, including George Washington’s copy of the Constitution, that toured the 48 contiguous states for nearly two years.
Children of the era remember Schoolhouse Rock being rebranded for the Bicentennial as America Rock, with three-minute educational films about battles of the Revolution, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.
The federal government also created commemorative items. The Postal Service printed more than one hundred Bicentennial stamps. The U.S. Mint held a nationwide competition to redesign the reverse sides of the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coin. The winning designs featured the dual date 1776–1976 and images including a colonial drummer, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell resting on the moon.
The coins and stamps allowed everyone to take part in the festivities, even if they could not attend Operation Sail or see the wagon train. It became nearly impossible to drive down an American street without seeing flags on front porches.
The event was not without critics. Some called it the Buy-Centennial as corporations branded almost every product with patriotic symbols, from shirts and soda cans to a red, white, and blue Spirit of ’76 chainsaw.
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, many of the same traditions continue. Corporations are branding products with patriotic symbols, municipalities are planning fireworks, and private pyrotechnics remain the backbone of a multibillion-dollar industry.
The Washington Mall is expected to host a record-setting fireworks display featuring a 40-minute show and an estimated 851,000 fireworks.
If you are around 50 years from now, you may get to enjoy the tricentennial, which will probably involve robots and a spaceship parade on the moon.
The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The Associate Producers are Austin Oetken and Cameron Kieffer.
Research and writing for this episode were provided by Joel Hermansen.
This episode can be found at: https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-the-4th-of-july-celebrations/