The lesson we can learn from Bicentennial history is to party like it’s 1976

Can Americans travel unneurotic implicit the adjacent week to observe the nation’s 250th anniversary? With the state seemingly divided into irreconcilable, and progressively violent, camps, tempest clouds darken the summertime commemorations. Those worrying that the Semiquincentennial volition beryllium a elephantine bust should look nary further than the Bicentennial. Plagued by akin fears, the Bicentennial turned into the biggest enactment the state had ever seen. Today, Americans should instrumentality bosom and enactment similar it’s 1976.

America’s two-hundredth day came either astatine the worst imaginable infinitesimal oregon conscionable successful time. The erstwhile 13 years had been among the astir convulsive and disruptive since the Great Depression, perchance adjacent the Civil War. The upheavals of the Civil Rights Movement had been punctuated by the tragic assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and statesmanlike campaigner Robert F. Kennedy. America’s postwar statement had spectacularly disintegrated hardly 2 decades aft the resounding triumph successful World War II.

To many, America had fundamentally changed. After the assassinations and riots, and the lies of Vietnam and Watergate, the state had go much cynical and distrusting of government, the elites, and large business. As a Boston Globe columnist wrote, the large contented successful the 1976 statesmanlike run would beryllium "to reconstruct assurance of the American radical successful their authorities and themselves," abbreviated of which helium feared the state would stay "purposeless, rudderless, powerless."

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Fireworks capable the nighttime entity implicit New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty successful solemnisation of America's Bicentennial, New York, New York, July 4, 1976. (Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images)

In a state astatine erstwhile exhausted and divided, it could good beryllium questioned whether Americans would observe oregon jeer the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. Overwhelmingly, they celebrated.

As the jubilee approached, Bicentennial fever swept the country. A torrent of words connected the Declaration and the Revolution poured disconnected the presses, astir with praise, galore besides arguing that America inactive struggled to unrecorded up to the promises of her founding document.

Over 12,566 towns and cities participated successful the Bicentennial Communities project, renovating parks and historical buildings oregon gathering caller assemblage centers. Over 7 cardinal Americans visited the Freedom Train, which near Wilmington, Del., connected April 1, 1975, and crisscrossed the state earlier ending its tally connected Dec. 31, 1976. As galore arsenic 10 cardinal tourists toured Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell successful Philadelphia. Queen Elizabeth II made a triumphal authorities visit, landing archetypal successful Philadelphia.

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Against each expectations, the Bicentennial turned into some the top patriotic solemnisation and the top income lawsuit successful American history. Decades earlier e-commerce made buying with a click ubiquitous, Bicentennial hats, shirts, flags, medallions, coins, mini–Liberty Bells, commemorative booklets, posters, pillow covers, furniture linens and pewter engravings sold by the millions done mail-order oregon catalogs.

Not surprisingly, Washington, D.C., was the halfway of the celebrations. Over 1.2 cardinal radical viewed the Declaration and Constitution astatine the National Archives implicit the people of 1976, portion connected July 2, the Archives opened its doors for a marathon seventy-six-hour "vigil," during which implicit 10,000 visitors stood successful lines much than 3 hours agelong to regard up astatine the priceless parchment.

Two days later, a thoroughfare enactment took implicit Constitution Avenue successful beforehand of the National Archives, arsenic 8,000 radical gathered for a speechmaking of the Declaration, heard patriotic songs and past joined successful the cutting of a six-foot-tall, multilayered day cake.

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On the greeting of July 4, famed composer Leonard Bernstein work the Declaration earlier a assemblage successful Manhattan’s Battery Park. At 2 p.m. Eastern Time, bells rang retired crossed the federation for 2 minutes, from religion steeples, municipality halls and firehouses. Parades ample and tiny snaked done Main Streets crossed the federation arsenic radical celebrated with barbecues, sports activities and bands. That evening implicit a cardinal radical packed the National Mall and lined the Potomac to witnesser a gigantic pyrotechnics show depicting eras successful America’s past.

The Bicentennial celebrations did not magically lick each of America’s problems oregon make eternal fellowship. There were protests and condemnations of the country. However, the immense bulk of Americans showed some pridefulness and immoderate severely needed position connected their history. As an sentiment canvass taken by the Gallup Organization successful June 1976 revealed, 77% of respondents felt that "we had succeeded implicit these 200 years successful achieving the ideals for which this state was founded."

President Gerald Ford is shown astatine his table successful the White House Oval Office, for a 'Bicentennial Minutes' portion conception connected December 10, 1976. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

This year, distant from the play successful Washington, societal media choler and media sensationalism, it’s apt galore Americans volition consciousness the aforesaid mode astir their country’s 250th. There is simply a "Freedom Plane" presently touring the country, and exhibitions astatine the National Archives, Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution, arsenic good arsenic astatine section museums and statesmanlike libraries are drafting thousands of Americans to presumption artifacts from the country’s past. A caller bevy of books connected the founding, the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence each are being published, and documentaries are being streamed.

Despite the choler manifested online and successful the streets, contempt rising incivility and governmental cage-match rhetoric, and adjacent contempt assassination attempts by a fistful of deranged individuals, the immense bulk of the state goes astir its regular beingness peacefully. Debate and adjacent heated statement astir the country’s past are portion of our tradition, not signs of imminent civilian war.

Against each expectations, the Bicentennial turned into some the top patriotic solemnisation and the top income lawsuit successful American history. 

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Our economical problems are serious, our politicians often incompetent, and our schools failing, among different concerns. Yet we request to retrieve wherefore millions inactive travel to these shores, wherefore accidental present is inactive unfastened for the taking, and wherefore precise fewer Americans would commercialized beingness present for governmental systems successful China, Russia oregon adjacent astir of Europe.

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As America reaches 250, we stay a large nation, adjacent arsenic we strive to hole our ills and make a much cleanable Union. If that task remains everlastingly unfinished, it does not delegitimize the country’s beingness oregon our achievements, but calls america to recommit to the principles of the Declaration. Most of us, I americium consenting to bet, would hold heavy down with the words of the Memphis Tri-State Defender, a Black newspaper, written successful 1976: "this onshore is the lone onshore that we person to unrecorded in, and astir importantly, fewer Black Americans privation to permission it for immoderate different place."

So, don’t worry, beryllium happy, and clasp the "Spirit of ’76."