It is the smell of hot, buttered popcorn and gunpowder. It is fried chicken and band music. It is baseball and the fierce hear of mid-summer. It is the roll of drums and the thunder of patriotic oratory. It is the thud of marching boots and the clatter of horses' hoofs, the whoops of small boys and the companionable barking of their dogs; it is the town's pretties girl posing majestically as Columbia on a red-white-and-blue parade float while the liveliest girl steps smartly in the brief skirts of a majorette; it is the rivalry between the Boy Scouts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Elks Lodge to win the Chamber of Commerce prize for the best marching unit; it is a sea of waving flags and festooned bunting; it is millions of stars exploding against the night sky from the fireworks in the city park. It is the most exuberant of all American holidays, for it is a salute to freedom.
It is the Fourth of July in the United States--the nation's birthday. It honors the day in 1776 when the Continental Congress, that brave band of patriots representing the thirteen colonies, adopted the Declaration of Independence, which cut the tie with England and established the United States of America.
In firm language the Declaration of Independence stated the American credo:
"....We hold these truths to
be self evident; that all
men are created equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these
are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....That
to secure these rights, governments are instituted among
men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed...."
These seeds of democratic thought--combining moral justice
with solid foundations of government--have as much meaning
for Americans today as they had for the "founding
fathers."
And independence Day celebrations still reflect the jubilance
felt by John Adams and the other signers of the great document.
During the first celebration Adams, who led the fight in
Congress for the adoption of the Declaration, wrote his wife:
"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding
generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to
be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of
devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be celebrated by pomp
and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires
and illuminations from one end of this continent to the
other...."
And so it has been. Ever since
that memorable day in 1776
when the Liberty Bell called the people of Philadelphia (the
then capital) to the State House to hear the Declaration of
Independence read out, the 4th of July has been a joyous
American holiday. Communities, large and small, with
speeches, parades and fireworks, reaffirm the words written
on the Liberty Bell:
PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE
INHABITANTS THEREOF.
To the colonists, "liberty" meant the right to choose
the
form of government which would preserve the rights embodied
in the Declaration of Independence; and it meant freedom from
tyranny and from unjust taxation. But their bold stand had
yet to be established in actions. The rebellion (called the
Revolutionary War) was far from won when the Declaration was
signed. Under the gallant leadership of General George
Washington, the American forces would engage the King's armies
for another five years; France and Spain would have to come
to their aid; and Benjamin Franklin, the country's first
ambassador to France, would have to negotiate a settlement
at the diplomatic level before the rebellion would end.
When the hostilities finally terminated in 1781 with the
surrender of the British at Yorktown, Virginia, the thirteen
states were faced with the difficult task of organizing a
government which would substantiate the motto "E Pluribus
Unum"--Out of Many, One. It was apparent that to establish
that unity the individual states would have to relinquish
their sovereignty and they would have to vest more authority
in a strong central government. This was capably
accomplished in 1788 with the adoption of the Constitution.
The principles set forth in that remarkable document are also
reaffirmed each Fourth of July.
For the early presidents, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, who had played such important roles in the founding of the Republic, Independence Day celebrations had deep significance. After the seat of the government was established in the Federal City if Washington, the president traditionally held open house in the mansion provided for him, and citizens called at the White House to pay their respects to the Chief of State in an atmosphere of polite informality. At large banquets characteristic of the time, flowery toasts were proposed to the president, to the Republic, and to its democratic ideals. The sentiments have not changed, but as the country's boundaries expanded and its population increased, ceremonies at the capital were necessarily replaced by local celebrations. On the nation's 50th anniversary there were 24 stars in the flag, one for each state. By July 4, 1863, there were 35, had on Independence Day of 1960, when a star was added for the new state of Hawaii, there was a total of 50.
Each city and town now sponsors its own ceremony--a parade, speeches by public officials, guided tours through historic monuments, outdoor stage shows, boat races, and evening fireworks displays. Families, fraternal and civic organizations, the recreation department, all hold day-long picnics. The "Little Leaguers" challenge their old brothers to a baseball game; there are three-legged races, watermelon eating contests, folk dancing, and lots of lively music. Cool drinks refresh the players, and everyone gathers at long tables under the trees for a lunch of potato salad, hot dogs, baked beans, chocolate cake and ice cream.
In some communities 4th of July traditions have grown up around the region's own background. At Flagstaff, Arizona, for instance, American Indians hold a three-day pow wow, with a rodeo and tribal dances. And Lititz, in eastern Pennsylvania, has held the distinctive and beautiful "Fairyland of Candles" at its Spring Park every year since 1843. All through the winter the citizens of Lititz prepare for the July 4 festival by making candles in old-fashioned molds. The celebration begins with a daytime Baby Parade--small children dressed in patriotic costumes ride on diminutive floats draped in red-white-and-blue bunting. Then at dusk the Queen of Candles arrives to reign over the candle-lighting ceremony. The park is filled with flickering lights as the boys who light the candles carry some above their heads and float others in the water.
Those who yearn to take part in a real old-fashioned Fourth can visit Bridgeport, California, a small town on the eastern slope of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains. Before the ten o'clock parade, everyone gathers at the county courthouse to hear the Declaration of Independence read. "Old Glory" flies from every flagpole and red-white-and-blue streamers turn drab buildings into patriotic emblems. Cattlemen and Indians from neighboring ranches add to the holiday scene as they ride into town on fine horses with glittering silver-mounted trappings. Children parade on decorated bicycles, and then comes a great event--a real pie-eating contest. after lunch--a picnic basket or barbecued meat from street-side stands--the crowd moves to the baseball field to cheer and heckle the amateur team. It's a glorious Fourth!
In decided contrast to this western celebration was the one at Scarsdale, New York, in 1959. Money customarily spent for fireworks was donated to the American Korean Foundation, an organization which cares for orphans, assists Boy and Girl Scouts, conducts a guidance clinic, and supplies vocational training.
Wherever Americans happen to be around the globe they get together for the traditional Fourth of July celebration. The ranking United States official generally gives a noonday reception. After that, formally ends and the festivities recall the Fourth "back home." The picnic is big, informal, and as typically American as "the committee" can make it. There is baseball at its inexpert best, horseshoe throwing contests, ladies' volleyball, and races for boys under 12, with prizes and surprises. There are hot dogs, of course, and hamburgers with plenty of mustard and catsup, soft drinks and ice cream, even if the weather is cold.
In 1918, when British and American soldiers were fighting side by side, there was an Independence Day Celebration in England; the American flag and 4th of July Commemoratives appear each year in remote corners of every continent. But the most spectacular celebration outside the United States takes place in Denmark, at the Rebild National Park, a shrine built especially for the occasion. For the past fifty years Americans of Danish extraction have joined thousands of Danes, including the Royal family, in a celebration faithful to the best American traditions. A replica of the Liberty Bell rings for freedom, the American and Danish flags are ceremoniously hoisted; there are speeches, the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address are read. In the Park a Lincoln-style log cabin houses a collection of American including a covered wagon, cowboy outfits, and many Indian relics. At nightfall the festivities move to the seaport city of Aalborg for torchlight parades, a banquet and dazzling fireworks.
Philadelphia, "birthplace of the nation," naturally comes to the forefront on the 4th of July. The historic monuments have been faithfully preserved, and as one walks through Independence Hall it is easy to visualize young Thomas Jefferson presenting his draft of the Declaration to the august members of the Continental Congress. He sees where George Washington sat while presiding over the Constitutional Congress, and he hears the Liberty Bell tell its own story, no less dramatic for being electronically recorded. In 1951, on the 175th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the original scene was re-enacted "in all the colorful splendor of Colonial days." There was a "hallowed earth" ceremony when a mixture of soil from the Revolutionary battlegrounds and that of Independence Square was used to plant oak seedlings as symbols of "new life springing from earth consecrated by the patriots of 1776." The little trees were potted in the "hallowed earth" and sent to the governors of each of the 48 states.
The late President John F.
Kennedy, ever mindful of his
country's heritage, made a memorable speech in Philadelphia
on July 4m 1962. By then there were 50 states, whose governors
were honored guests at the ceremony. In his address to the
huge throng in Independence Square, President Kennedy said:
"A great new effort--for interdependence--is transforming
the world about us. And the spirit of that new effort is the
same spirit which gave birth to the American Constitution."
He continued, "...on this day of independence...the United
States will be ready for a Declaration of
Interdependence--that we will be prepared to discuss with a
United Europe the ways and means of forming a concrete Atlantic
Partnership between the new union now emerging in Europe and
the old American union founded here 175 years ago."