Anyone else remember the Bicentennial?

[LT Barclay]

Do you remember the excitement, the national celebrations and memorials that seemed to last all year?

I remember the Freedom train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Train#1975%E2%80%9376_American_Freedom_Train

I remember how my mother converted an old suit into an admittedly tacky and inaccurate Revolutionary War costume and my sisters were in dresses and bonnets going to the 4th of July celebration on the St. Louis riverfront.

I remember knickknacks, doodads, and kitsch galore celebrating the ideals and events that had brought us forward.

I remember that despite internal conflict over racism and segregation, unfettered pollution, etc. for most of us it appeared that the tide was turning.

Has anyone noticed the mood is not the same now?

[piddyprints]

1. I got married that year.

It was a struggle to find invitations that were not bicentennial-themed.

The mood is definitely not the same now, and not in a good way. I certainly don’t feel like celebrating anymore.

[LT Barclay]

2. It doesn't seem that anyone does, not even MAGA and they are getting their way.

It reminds me of being in church. I attend evangelical churches (must be a masochistic streak), and of course 80% are right-wingers and those that aren't are scared to speak up. But when the right-wingers get their way and the church lurches to the right, it kills the church.
I've returned to a church I attended previously after a 26 year absence, and I know who is the source. What was once a group of around 100-120 per Sunday is down to 30-40. And the kicker is that some of the people who wanted that direction the most, were the first to depart.

[ret5hd]

19. serious question:

re:
“… and those that aren't are scared to speak up.”

what are the real world implications in this situation if one DOES speak up?

i don’t understand…
loss of friends? what kind of people are they to begin with?

thrown out of that church? maybe find one that more aligns with your ideals.

just a generalized fear of confrontation?

just asking…as one that has never really been too nervous about telling someone they are full of shit.

[LT Barclay]

38. Right wingers don't care. For me it is a personal thing of not wanting to create conflict in a place of worship.

[dameatball]

54. I did too. In August. It was a nice summer that year.

[piddyprints]

60. We were married in August too.

It was really nice, not too hot!

[Maeve]

62. We did too! Spent part of our honeymoon in Philadelphia

Not feeling celebratory for the country, altho plan to toast our anniversary

[John1956PA]

3. CBS featured the segment, "Bicentennial Minute." Charlton Heston presented the first one. He spoke about the Minute Men.

[chicoescuela]

4. Who can forget all the 'Bicentennial Minutes' on tv for 2 years prior to

July 4, 1976. Bicentennial high school grad and some kind of certificate from old Jerry Ford with my diploma. Maybe tsf with do something similar along with a $250 check signed by him.

[GP6971]

5. I was very involved. I was stationed at the Army's ocean terminal in upper NY harbor

and we berthed and hosted the crews for 3 tall ships and a couple of naval ships from Australia and the UK. It was quite the event.

I'm not seeing any mention of any planning outside of what Trump has mentione. I think the nation is just too tired of Trump to really celebrate.

[LT Barclay]

14. I forgot the tall ships parade!! That was awesome even just on TV in the Midwest!!

[electric_blue68]

16. Watched some of Op Sail from under the GW Bridge. It was great!

Cool on you people!

[GP6971]

21. Op sail was spectacular! We did a lot of behind the scenes work...

in addition to berthing and hosting the crews we assisted all the federal agencies processing the crews so they could visit NYC.

[electric_blue68]

31. Thanks for helping to make it a great event!

[Ilsa]

6. Yeah, I remember. Sadly, where I lived nothing

was planned. I watched celebrations on TV, though.

[Irish_Dem]

7. We were very excited about celebrating the bicentennial.

We were so proud of our country.
Home of the brave, land of the free.
The best in the world.

Who feels that way today??

[SamKnause]

8. I remember the wagon train.

It came through the small rural town my sister lives in.

I sat on the front porch and watched all the wagons, horses, and people go by.

It was awesome.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

9. Yes, of course we remember it.

[Danmel]

10. I had a Bicentennial themed Sweet Sixteen

But then again I watched the Watergate hearings as a 14 year old girl. As Lady Gaga would say, years later, I was born this way.

[H2O Man]

11. Recommended.

I do, for a number of reasons. My late friend Rubin was a guest speaker in DC. I remember him saying, "Miracles do happen ..... they just take a dog-gone lot of work."

Two years before, had anyone still questioned it, America learned that the president was a crook. The year before, the Pike Committee (House) and Church Committee (Senate) had informed America that there had been some issues with intelligence agencies.

I remember it as a time when there was some potential, but not as a year of roses & rainbows. Progress was being made, and Jimmy Carter seemed capable of delivering it. But it was still a year of struggle.

[ms liberty]

12. I spent July 4, 1976 at Tampa Stadium seeing the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.

Great show.

[Takket]

13. honestly i cannot fathom celebrating the 250th. feels more like a funeral than a birthday

[electric_blue68]

15. Absolutely! As a NYC'r we had a blast!...

We, as an extended family walked our way down, and back up from Washington Heights (around 176th St, 2 Avenues west of Broadway) all the way down to The Little Red Ligthouse under the George Washington [GW] Bridge to
watch Operation Sail!
The Tall Ships from multiple countries. Each had various detailings. Sooo cool! They sailed under, and passed it then soon turned around and back down.
We came back to watch more on TV.

(The night before we went down to see them with their strings of lights at night.)

Then later we went down near the south end of Manhattan to catch the fireworks.

Sure we had some major faults to keep correcting. But certainly progress was happening.

[BigmanPigman]

17. I was 14 and living in Phila so EVERYTHING for about

12 months was related to the bicentennial. Phila was celebrating with a ton of merch, events, fireworks, etc. My birthday is July 3 so of course that was part of the bicentennial celebrations too. I always put sparklers on my birthday cakes but the one in 1976 was almost a fire hazard.

I LOVED the July 4th in Phila and I was a proud, patriotic citizen. Right now I feel the opposite and that pisses me off a lot!!!!! Ronald Raygun was the beginning of losing my patriotic feelings and respect for our country but the fucking moron has completely killed MY COUNTRY! I know he doesn't give a shit about the USA so of course he loves destroying it. He is the definition of a sadistic, greedy psychopath.

[PCIntern]

51. I was in dental school and it was exciting.

[Jersey Devil]

18. The tall ships on the Hudson, the fireworks over Lady Liberty

I remember it well.

[Scrivener7]

53. I was there too!

[brer cat]

20. I remember it well. I worked in DC at the time, and lived in nearby

Arlington, VA. We watched the fireworks on the Mall that July 4th from across the river because my daughter was 7 months old, too young for me to get into a crowd. It was a very uplifting celebration.

There will be no celebration from me next year unless there is a death or reisgnation of the moron in the WH.

[progressoid]

22. I remember thinking the whole thing seemed a little...

well....contrived.

I suppose I've never really been the "rah rah" type.

YMMV.

[hibbing]

23. Was gifted a cool Bicentennial transistor radio!

[pecosbob]

24. I joined the Navy a month later.

[artemisia1]

25. I remember it very well. We watched a Battle of Gettysburg reenactment then went to the Fort Worth (FL) waterfront to

watch fireworks. My older brother had a scale model of the Liberty Bell and we collected Bicentennial quarters -- which were a big thing for kids to find then.

Now, instead of a solemn speech by the President, classy balls and firework celebrations, we are going to have tweaking in the White House, drinking contests -- which Hegseth will win -- a gold statue of Donald wheeled through the halls and Trump making the celebration entirely about him and how much he has done to make America Great.

[LilElf70]

26. Well,

1976 - Life was great. One of the best times of my life. Democracy flourished.
2025 - Life is shit, thanks to Trump. Facism on the rise.

[Prairie Gates]

27. "They ask me did I like Arsenio

'bout as much as the bicentennial..."

- Ice Cube

[Blues Heron]

28. The semiquincentennial is going to be a flop- the mojo is totally gone

The difference 50 years can make

[mokeyz]

29. I was working in the last building on Wall Street

right on the water - the ships from Operation Sail were coming in for weeks, so lovely to see them out of our, I think, 20th floor windows and from the piers etc..

[3Hotdogs]

39. My friend had a friend who worked on the 20th or so of the World Trade Center. We got to see the Parade of Sails

from there.

Mu favorite story the "Parade" was scheduled to sail from the G.W. bridge to the bay by the Statue of Liberty, probably around 1 p.m.
Beginning early morning, small craft were lining the bay in front of Ellis and Liberty islands. Of course there would be problems when they got in the way of the sailing ships.

Around 11:00, the Coast Guard began ordaining the boats out of the bay. Most complied. But again, there are those who are entitled or as Orwell wrote, are more equal than others.

One guy, the Coast guard ordered his boat to move clear of the area.

Entitled boater: "I can't move the boat. The anchor's jammed into something on the bottom."

Coast Guard: " You have 5i minutes to pull op the anchor before we cut the chain."

The boater suddenly unjammed his anchor.

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. I had strep, but I remember it well.

The thrill is gone. It might be different if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris was president....

[calimary]

32. I remember during high school, my friend's mother putting up a poster of a buffalo

and then introducing us to Bison Tennial!

[jfz9580m]

34. Cute

[LA Blue Bengal]

33. I was only 7

that year, but I remember the excitement around it. Collecting bicentennial quarters was a big deal for us kids. I don’t really remember the Bicentennial Minutes, but I do recall that CBS was on the air for 16 hours covering celebrations all over the country. Next year will not have the same atmosphere at all, unless by some miracle this corrupt administration is tossed aside beforehand.

[LittleGirl]

35. My hometown had all of the fire hydrants

painted as soldiers. It was so cute. I was sweet 16 at the time.

[MustLoveBeagles]

36. Barely

I was 4. I remember that there were a lot of flags around and that fireworks were important that year. That's why I HAD been been looking forward to this upcoming anniversary. That changed with last years election.

[BannonsLiver]

37. Too young

But years later I believe we would have been better off if the British had won the war. I contemplate that every July 4.

[Haggard Celine]

46. I wonder too if we would be better off.

Would we be more like Canada? Would slavery have ended earlier? I think slavery would have made our history different regardless, but I wonder if we would've had a civil war. Most of the things the colonists were bitching about weren't that big a deal. I think what happened is a group of wealthy and connected men saw an opportunity to seize power and took it. They used propaganda to get their neighbors to go along. Our Constitution and government are a great contribution to Western civilization, but the flaws in both have been exposed for all to see. The way things are looking, Britain's government is going to outlast ours.

[KitFox]

40. I was teaching and remember how much fun it was taking my class to see the "Freedom Train" with all the

exhibits. The train station was decorated and while we waited in line, we sang songs and the atmosphere was joyful.

[Iggo]

41. I was in high school. We did all kinda shit that year.

It was also an election year, so we were doing the mock convention.

Plus, I was in the marching band, and we did all the good Souza stuff.

(“Stars And Stripes Forever” is still in my top ten favorite songs list. Not top ten marches. Top ten songs! Don’t judge me…lol.)

[Bristlecone]

42. I remember my first bicentennial quarter

For some reason that is my standout memory for 1976

[Codifer]

43. I seem to recall

That there was an intricate and successful hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport carried out by Israel. We cheered that.

How times have changed for all of us.

[Dulcinea]

44. I turned 11 that year.

I remember going to a big picnic with a great fireworks display. It makes me sad that we're not happy or proud anymore.

[aggiesal]

45. I went to a double-header baseball games at Wrigley Field ...

Mets @ Cubs
My 2 older brothers with my 2 cousins.
We got there early and we bought 5 front row seats in the upper deck, right on top of 3rd base next to the WGN camera.

[Raine]

47. I remember the Bicentennial Minutes and all the fire hydrants

that were painted to look like little soldiers etc to be a part of the celebration.

[DFW]

48. Very much!

On July 4th, I went with some friends to see Elton John live at an outdoor concert near Boston.

I spent Election Night at a small hotel in Borås, Sweden, watching the election of Jimmy Carter and Fritz Mondale, a little apprehensive at how it was closer than I would have liked. I had been at my job nearly a year and a half, and they were already sending me all over the globe. Since my dad had been a Washington DC print journalist since before I was born, at age 24, I was already a lifelong political junkie, and after Nixon, it was vital for me that the Republicans lose the White House, even though I had to admit I liked Gerry Ford on a personal basis. My dad knew both Nixon and Mondale well, but was not familiar with Carter until he took office. He never introduced me to Nixon (probably why I lived to old age), but Mondale was just a prince of a guy.

[Deminpenn]

49. I do

it coincided with my college graduation.

I remember people being recruited for the wagon train.

[PCIntern]

50. As a native Philadelphian, it is a landmark in my existence.

It was just As Bigman Pigman said above.

[Gore1FL]

52. I remember the "And that's what happened, 200 years ago today" commercials!

I remember The Freedom Train
I remember flags everywhere.

1976 was pre-Reagan, when we were "great."

[Harker]

55. It's difficult to muster up any enthusiasm in the midst of a long national nightmare.

[Simeon Salus]

56. The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder was on all night long.

In an era where stations signed off every night with the national anthem.

Harry Chapin was a guest. Here is a song he wrote about America in 1976. It's sadly accurate about what's happened to our country since then.

"B-U-Y Centennial
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
America Perennial
Sing happy ever after"

He recorded it on the album "Dance Band on the Titanic", the name of another prescient song.

[Ziggysmom]

63. Nice to remember Harry. He was taken from us much too soon.

[sinkingfeeling]

57. Yes. Your question sent me rifling through old photographs. Here's the

costumes I made to celebrate.




We attended a big celebration at the Ohio Historical Society, a picnic at the Grandview Heights Park, and a block party, all celebrating the Bicentennial. Lots of flags and decorations.

Next year I will not celebrate. America is gone and it seems like most of its population no longer believe in its founding principles

[Pizza slice]

58. I was in 6th grade, our elementary school did a bicentennial musical

We all had matching shirts with Stars and Stripes. I remember a couple of numbers, one called “Let George Do It” and
“Cherry Tree Chop”. It was a big deal for us small town kids. I still have that shirt in a cedar chest.

[Wednesdays]

59. Lively painted fire hydrants were everywhere in 1976

http://www.firehydrant.org/pictures/bicentennial.html

This year? Nada.

[Raine]

65. THANKS for posting those

I had forgotten how cute they were! 🥰❤️

[VGNonly]

61. I was working,

at Cedar Point OH, the amusement park. The place was packed, the fireworks lasted an hour.

[hunter]

66. My parents were both working or looking after their parents. I don't remember which.

I ended up watching my six year old brother since my other siblings were off doing their own things. My parents probably figured that I, as a college student, was the most responsible among us. I was taking a class that summer, "Technical Writing for Idiots," or something like that and still planning to be an engineer.

First thing me and my brother did was fire off my old stash of home-made rockets and explosives. No better day to dispose of the evidence! I'd had to quit my high school pyrotechnic experiments previously when neighbors started complaining to both my parents and the police.

Then me and my brother drove to the local museum which had free admission for the day. There we looked at a diorama of a Native American village. My little brother noted that everyone in the diorama was half naked, including the women. "Boobies!"

Attracting attention, he said it more than once. I hated attention.

Growing up in a city that was 99% white, where grade school history classes were essentially propaganda and myths, pretty much everyone assumed the local Indians were extinct. That was not the case, but the museum made no mention of them, same as school.

Then we ate at McDonalds, something my parents rarely allowed, went to the park where the big fireworks show would be, played on the swings and "monkey bars," made a nuisance of ourselves with the guys who were setting up the fireworks, and eventually met up with the rest of our family for the big show.

The traffic jam when the show ended was horrible.