Parading patriotism: Independence Day celebrations in the urban Midwest, 1826-1876

Adam James Criblez, Purdue University

Abstract

This dissertation explores Independence Day celebrations in the urban Midwest between 1826 and 1876, focusing on the ways in which midwestern commemorations of the Fourth of July revealed changing perceptions about national identity and patriotic loyalty. On Independence Day, celebrants actively defined, through both actions and rhetoric, unique understandings of American cultural citizenship. Residents staunchly defended their own interpretations of what it meant to be an American citizen, often conflicting with one another. In the five cities considered in this study – Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis – the Fourth of July was an opportune time for all midwesterners, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or political persuasion, to define abstract terms like liberty, freedom, and patriotism through their particular mode of celebrating the holiday. Commemorations of the Fourth of July changed dramatically between 1826 and 1876, the semicentennial and centennial celebrations of the signing of the Declaration of Independence respectively. In the early republic, revelers commemorated the Fourth in a very uniform, premeditated manner. The day began with cannon and pistol fire, after which citizens gathered for a military parade through the city streets, often ending at a courthouse or other municipal edifice. At this prearranged gathering point, an orator – often a lawyer, politician, or other well-known resident – provided a long, drawn-out speech laced with allusions to the greatness of the Founding Fathers. Following the address, somebody usually read the Declaration of Independence, and then men congregated at local drinking establishments, offering rounds of toasts to various political, social, and cultural institutions. By the 1870s, this behavior had disappeared completely. In the postbellum era, the Fourth of July was dominated by recreational or leisure pursuits with little acclamation for civic-sponsored fetes. Instead of community-wide parades, revelers turned to baseball, horseracing, and picnicking while orators focused on the progress and potential of the nation, and on more recent events like the Civil War, rather than proclaiming the glories of 1776. “Parading Patriotism” explores this transformation, putting it in context as part of redefining patriotic loyalty and the meaning of being an American citizen.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Larson, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American studies|American history

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