America’s 250th anniversary is upon us, and, at the national level, the narrative is set: President Donald Trump has made a half-millennium in his private party.
The White House has launched a series of headline-grabbing events, from a UFC fight on the South Lawn to a failed concert series that was eventually replaced by — what else? – full Trump rally. His shipping secretary called artists who decided not to “libtards.”
America’s Greatest State Fair is kind of floptoo. And when Washington, DC, can see a record-setting fireworks displayno one knows exactly when, because it will have to wait for Trump to finish his big speech on the Mall (probably at 11 pm, or even later).
But Trump’s vision of America isn’t necessarily how the rest of the country celebrates it. After all, this has (sort of) happened before; America’s 1976 bicentennial under President Richard Nixon was also not easy.
Finally, according to MJ Rymsza-Pawlowska, a historian at American University and author of History Comes Alive: Public History and Popular Culture in the 1970smany bicentennial celebrations ended up being held at the local level, fueled by grassroots support and a desire for a more American celebration.
Rymsza-Pawlowska spoke to Today, It’s Explained co-host Noel King in early June about how the bicentennial celebrations ended up the way they did, what Nixon’s original vision demanded instead, and why even traditional national celebrations are often influenced less by the official plans than by the people who participate.
Below is part of their conversation about America’s upcoming birthday, edited for length and clarity. There’s a lot more in the full podcast, so take a listen Today, It’s Explained wherever you find podcasts, incl Apple Podcasts, Pandoraand Spotify.
Let’s dive back into the mists of time. It’s 1976. America is a different country than it is today. What is the mood leading up to America’s bicentennial?
It’s no different than it is today, and it’s really no different than it was in 1876. We’ve never had a solid national memory, it’s changing.
In 1976, President Richard Nixon had resigned under a cloud of scandal. He was a president that many people didn’t like very much, which he was accused of having a royal presidency. We come from a a very unpopular war which had created a lot of criticism and social movements, and Americans have been protesting for 10, 20 years. We live in a world where there have been a lot of social movements but where things have also changed a lot in a short period of time.
Bicentennial plans began in 1966 when Lyndon Johnson became president. Lyndon Johnson created the American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission, which was a national body tasked with planning the bicentennial. What Johnson really wanted to do was he wanted to have a memorial that reflected his priorities for the domestic agenda, which it was. A Greater Community. He envisioned an anniversary where the federal government would pump tons of infrastructure and resources into America’s cities. And the way he wanted to do this was that he wanted to have international exposure. Several cities competed – Philadelphia eventually won – and the idea was that (for) two hundred years, the World’s Fair would be a kind of model city. It will be a showcase for all of Johnson’s home programs.
And then, Nixon came in in 1968, and he wanted to make it his own. Nixon also originally wanted an international exhibition – the World’s Fair. But unlike Johnson, he had no intention of using it as an opportunity to build infrastructure and was more interested in using it as an opportunity to celebrate America and Richard Nixon.
The first thing I will say is that he took over the American Revolutionary Centennial Commission, which, under Johnson, has been a non-political commission. Nixon filled it with people from his cabinet as well as his political allies. He placed people who shared his vision of the memorial. But what happened was that even when Nixon came in, he was a bogus, unpopular president. He had supporters, but he also had many detractors. And the Vietnam War escalated. He immediately tries to make this kind of World Fair very festive. He gets a lot push back.
There is an organization called the People’s Bicentennial Commission. They had a lot of support from the civilian teachers, and they had all these protests. And their idea it was, basically, you should make two hundred years a period of reflection. Why not try to organize a bicentennial that reflects the diversity of experience and diversity of opinion across America?
One thing I remember from being a senior American is that the 1970s was a time of movement for everyone. It was the civil rights movement. It was the women’s rights movement. It was the Native American rights movement. These groups were calling on Nixon to complicate the plan, or to make it too easy. It was the same argument of, yes, America is a great country, but it also has some problems and we need to acknowledge that?
Yes, absolutely. They were saying that the memorial should also be an opportunity to reflect on America’s past, present and future. For the American Indian movement, which they he said is: “This is the history of colonialism. This is not the history of freedom, of expanded rights – at least, not for us.”
You have President Nixon wanting to do a simple, patriotic Nixon-centric version, and you have all this inspiration. What ends up happening?
What is very unique, and the big difference between 1976 and what we are seeing now, is that the Nixon administration is listening.
Part of the reason they listen is probably because they have a lot on their plates. All of this is going on more or less at the same time as Watergate. At the beginning of the Nixon administration, they had more time and energy to manage the bicentennial. In the end, they put out many other fires. But the Nixon administration basically realizes that their vision of this kind of patriotic, celebratory and straightforward bicentennial isn’t going away. And so, they completely change the course.
The mission changes completely. Nixon gives this speech in early 1974 when he announces this new direction. And what he says is: “The bicentennial will not be invented in Washington, printed in triplicate by the government printing office, sent to you by the United States Postal Service, and stored in your public library. Instead, we will try to evoke a series of tens of thousands of private celebrations, large and small, planned and performed by citizens in every part of America.”
Wow! What does this tell us?
This is two hundred years that we got. You had all these forces of people advocating and organizing their own commemorative activities that were more reflective of their experiences.
What they ended up doing was creating this new Centennial Revolution Administration whose sole purpose was to disperse funding through the states to grassroots groups – and even individuals who were planning bicentennial events – and then publicize those events. The real experience that most people had of two hundred years was grassroots. The 70’s take a lot of memory.
This is very good, what you just described.
But it started as a similar kind of political anger as we see now.
Do you think there is a chance that this highly politicized party that President Trump has planned could turn into something other than water?
I think in a way it already is.
As a public historian, as a person actively involved in society, I live in a world of structures created for me by two hundred years. One thing that happened when the bicentennial changed to a form of funding for these small local projects was that many small local projects and organizations were funded. And that ability is still there.
Your local museum probably got a new exhibit. Your library may have recorded a group of people talking about what the memory means to them. That ethos still exists. And when I look at the kinds of things that are happening here in Washington, DC, for example, and in other cities where people I work with in the public history community are involved, I see a lot of great local projects.
Here in DC, the public library is holding an exhibit about Washington’s contributions to America. There’s a great organization called Made By Us that makes these talking walls so people can write what they want to see for the next 250 years. There are things; you just have to look for it.
