The Glorious Fourth
An American Holiday, An American History
From the Jacket:
The Glorious Fourth, the first popular
history of Independence Day from the
18th century to the present, is a
distinguished addition to Facts on File’s
An American Holiday, An American History
series.
Author Diana Karter Appelbaum details
Fourth of July celebrations from the first
days of independence to the Bicentennial
and beyond. Her delightful history charts
the growth and evolution of the holiday
form generation to generation, opening a
one-of-a-kind window on Americana.
Readers will learn, for instance, that
celebrations in the new republic were
clearly split along party lines, with typical
towns hosting separate festivities for the
Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
In contrast, after the national bloodletting
of the Civil War, the holiday was used as
"A thorough treatment of the
genesis and development of
July 4th celebrating."
Book News
News:
George Washington
University Professor Amitai
Etzioni, writing in the
Chronicle of Higher
Education, references 'The
Glorious Fourth' as a key
work on the social history of
holidays.
an occasion to reconcile former rivals. This aspect of the holiday culminated in
the 1876 Centennial celebration in Philadelphia, where Southern dignitaries and
military companies were accorded high honors.
Independence days have been exuberant during times of national triumph, and
muted during the hardships of war; they have been hard-drinking affairs on the
American frontier, and have seen lazy backyard barbecues in postwar suburbia.
Through all these metamorphoses, the distinct ways that Americans have
chosen to celebrate their nationhood can tell us a great deal not only about how
they have lived their highest ideals but also how they have lived their daily lives.
And The Glorious Fourth allows each period of American history to tell its tale.
An abundance of drawings, photographs, speeches, and contemporary toasts
adds to the charm of this delightful yet authoritative history.
