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Fourth of July

July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day

July 3, 2020 by Deirdre Sinnott 8 Comments

Mother A. M. E. Zion Church Historical marker As the last enslaved people living in New York State were officially freed on July 4th, 1827, celebrations reigned.

According to the New-York Spectator, people packed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on the corner of Church and Leonard Streets in Manhattan. The major societies for the support and liberation of African American people were there. Banners and flags festooned the church. “Several hymns written for the occasion were sung.”

Portraits of John Jay, a founder of the Manumission Society who had himself owned five people until 1800, and Matthew Clarkson, who introduced a bill for the gradual end of slavery to the New York State Legislature, were hung near a bust of Daniel D. Tompkins, who as Governor of New York had proposed this date as the day for emancipation. [Read more…] about July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Civil Rights, Fourth of July, Manhattan, Political History, Slavery

Whose Fourth of July?

July 1, 2020 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben_franklins_worldOn July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to the Rochester, New York Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society and he famously asked “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, we explore Douglass’ thoughtful question within the context of Early America: What did the Fourth of July mean for African Americans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?

[Read more…] about Whose Fourth of July?

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Ben Franklin, Black History, Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass, Podcasts, Political History

A History of NYC July Fourth Celebrations

August 23, 2019 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, Bob Cudmore’s guest is Jim Kaplan who looks at the history of Fourth of July celebrations in New York City. In recent years the Lower Manhattan Historical Association has organized Fourth of July parades. Kaplan is a regular contributor to The New York History Blog [Read more…] about A History of NYC July Fourth Celebrations

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Fourth of July, Lower Manhattan Historical Society, Podcasts

Celebrating the Fourth: Some History

July 10, 2019 by Liz Covart 1 Comment

ben_franklins_worldIt wasn’t always fireworks on the fourth.

John Adams predicted Americans would celebrate the Second of July, the day Congress voted in favor of independence, “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of the Continent to the other.” He got the date wrong, but he was right about the festivities in commemoration of Independence Day. And yet July Fourth events have changed a great deal since 1776. [Read more…] about Celebrating the Fourth: Some History

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Declaration of Independence, Early America, Early American History, Fourth of July, Holidays, Independence Day, Military History, Podcasts

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