OPINION:
Much as Americans would like to believe that the Fourth of July from its origins was a time of bringing the nation together in celebration, the truth of the matter is that problems, even deep divisions, prevailed for decades after 1776. The reasons were obvious. When the break with Britain occurred with a Continental Congress resolution on July 2, 1776, followed by the approval of the Declaration of Independence two days later, the nation was mired in the throes of war. No time for festivities. And it took time to actually reproduce the Declaration to disseminate to the press and citizens.
Once done, there was an internal war as well. Some citizens were opposed to the severing of ties with the mother country, and these Loyalists were often the objects of harsh treatment. Then there was the fact that when the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia in early July 1777 — a year after the break — it was so inundated with work that not until July 3 did one member urge that a celebration be held. That occurred a day later in Philadelphia, but it was scarcely precedent because matters of state and winning the war were foremost, although subsequent, sporadic celebrations occurred in localities.
Even when the nation was on a firmer footing with the implementation in 1789 of the Constitution and the administration of George Washington, July Fourth celebrations were soon overshadowed on a federal level by partisan strife. Washington and successor John Adams were members of the Federalist Party, portrayed as pro-British and favoring strong government and business policies and were opposed by the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson identifying with the French Revolution and favoring states’ rights and farmers. Depending on the party, the Declaration of Independence was thought to be too pro-French or pro-British, and separate, partisan July Fourth celebrations were the result in various towns and cities.
Nor could the stature of President Washington ameliorate the strife. When he passed away in 1799, his death occasioned little notice. And the bitterness between former presidents and partisan rivals, Adams and Jefferson, the leading figures behind the break with Britain, was so intense that for 12 years they didn’t communicate. Even when they both passed away within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, public inattention was conspicuous.
The saving grace for greater unity and attention to Independence Day was the fading of the Federalist Party in the early 19th century, with the Democratic Party (Republican was dropped from its title) holding sway, and an era of nationalism emerging. The acquisition of new territory, combined with internal improvements in the form of roads and rails, gave rise to the celebration of the nation — its amazing present conditions, its glowing future — and, most importantly, its reason-to-be proud past.
The diary of President James K. Polk on July 4, 1848, is testimony to this trend:
“This being the day appointed for laying the cornerstone of the Washington Monument in Washington, and having been invited … to attend the ceremonies … I had invited my Cabinet to meet and accompany me.”
So with a new lease on life, July Fourth, elevated by the heroic emergence of George Washington, overflowed with flowery oratory, fireworks and picnics throughout the land, muted only briefly by the divisions of the Civil War. The only Grinch was the federal government, which took until 1870 to give federal workers and D.C. employees a holiday on July Fourth, but it was an unpaid leave. The congressional legislation authorizing the action was downright apologetic, noting the august body acted “to correspond with similar laws of the States around the District and in every State of the Union.”
No matter the outpouring of festivities on the centennial of July 4, 1876 — mostly in Philadelphia, not Washington — Congress continued to drag its feet, taking until 1885 to extend the unpaid holiday status to federal workers outside the Washington area. And it wasn’t until 1938 that Independence Day became a paid holiday for the federal government.
Of course, reconciliation with the Brits took an equally long time to accomplish fully — and that occurred shortly before July 4, 1939, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth became the first British monarchs to visit the United States, where they were treated to a picnic at President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s estate at Hyde Park, N.Y. Bonding was achieved not through diplomatic maneuvering or social niceties but an unexpected dietary breakthrough, namely, the American hot dog — so much so that the king, it was rumored, asked for seconds.
• Thomas V. DiBacco is professor emeritus at American University.
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