July 4th

Make the Fourth of July Safe Again!

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Over at Smithsonian.Com, history student Michael Waters tells the story of early 20th-century reformers and activists who were concerned that Independence Day celebrations were too dangerous.  They championed a “Safe and Sane Fourth.” Here is a taste of his Waters’s piece:...

The Politicization of July 4th is as Old as the Republic

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Is Trump politicizing Independence Day with his military parade and “Salute to America” speech?  Of course he is.  And, as historian Shira Lurie reminds us, this practice dates back to the country’s founding.  Here is a taste of her Washington Post piece,...

Images of the Day

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Courtesy of presidential historian Michael Beschloss’s Twitter feed: Context...

Book of the Day

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I know I have been pushing Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, but today I also want to call your attention to my 2011 book:  ...

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?

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Ben Railton has a nice reflection on Frederick Douglass’s famous speech.  Here is a taste of his post at American Studies blog: I’ve written many times, in this space and elsewhere, about the inspiring history of Elizabeth Freeman, Quock Walker, and their Revolutionary-era peers and...

Did Your Church Have Patriotic Worship on Sunday?

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Did your church have a patriotic service yesterday?  Did you sing any patriotic songs?  My church did not.  I came in a few minutes late, but I don’t think the 4th of July was ever mentioned.  This does not mean...

Catholics and Patriotic Worship

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Apparently it is not just evangelicals who have a problem with patriotic worship services.  This weekend a priest was quite surprised when a patriotic song was played during the communion mediation at mass. Here is a taste of Father James...

The Descendants of the Founding Fathers are Not All White

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Have you seen this powerful new video from Ancestry.com?  The video recreates John Trumbull’s “Declaration of Independence” painting: And here are the descendants: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1PMt8bnz34&w=560&h=315] Learn more about this video....

“Fresh Takes” on the Declaration of Independence

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Harvard’s Declaration Resources Project asked some high-powered historians to re-read the text of the first printing (Dunlap broadside) of the Declaration of Independence and write a short response.  They are good. Contributors include Zara Anashanslin, Johann Neem, Peter Onuf, Robert...

A July 4th (and beyond) Reading and Listening List

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Check out this very nice collection from Cara Burnidge at Religion in American History.   Here are a few of her suggestions: Declaration of Independence Frederick Douglass, “What To The Slave Is the Fourth of July? ” (1841), Black Perspectives Declaration...

Was the Declaration of Independence a “Plea for Help?”

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This is the title of Ishaan Tharoor‘s Washington Post interview with historian Larrie Ferrerio, author of the recent Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It.  (Check out my review of this book at Education...