Fourth of July

4th of July in New York City: Recent History and 2023 Plans

June 26, 2023 by James S. Kaplan 3 Comments

From the end of the Revolution until the 1960s, Fourth of July celebrations in the city of New York were a major annual events. (You can read about that history here.)

During the 1970s, the most important July 4th event in New York City became the previously established Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. The highly publicized event proved to be a huge success, but lacked historical context or political meaning. [Read more…] about 4th of July in New York City: Recent History and 2023 Plans

A History of New York City’s July 4th Celebrations

June 20, 2023 by James S. Kaplan 2 Comments

Throughout the United States there are traditional Fourth of July parades and backyard barbecues, but in New York City the history of July 4th celebrations have been somewhat different. Although July 4th would appear to be a apolitical patriotic holiday, early July 4th celebrations in the city of New York were anything but nonpartisan. [Read more…] about A History of New York City’s July 4th Celebrations

July 4th Riots in Lake George: Some History

July 6, 2022 by Anthony F. Hall Leave a Comment

The July 4th, 1965 weekend in Lake George Village culminated in riots in which 350 youths were arrested, at least according to the newspapers of the day.

Two hundred police officers were required to keep “the Bermuda clad, barefooted, out-of-state college kids” under control, one newspaper stated.

That was not the first Lake George youth riot, nor would it be the last. [Read more…] about July 4th Riots in Lake George: Some History

Whose Fourth of July?

February 9, 2022 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to an anti-slavery society and he famously asked “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Martha S. Jones, the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, and Christopher Bonner, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland help us 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?

The Semiquincentennial: State Leg Passes 250th Commemoration Act

July 8, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On June 8th, in the final week of legislative session, the New York State 250th Commemoration Act, passed both the New York Senate and Assembly.

The bill, which passed unanimously in both houses and now awaits the signature of Governor Andrew Cuomo, would create the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission to create a plan to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and founding of the United States (the Semiquincentennial, July 4, 2026), and establish a 250th Commemoration Commission Fund. [Read more…] about The Semiquincentennial: State Leg Passes 250th Commemoration Act

July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day

July 3, 2020 by Deirdre Sinnott 9 Comments

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

Whose Fourth of July?

July 1, 2020 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

On 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?

A History of NYC July Fourth Celebrations

August 23, 2019 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This 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

Celebrating the Fourth: Some History

July 10, 2019 by Liz Covart 1 Comment

It 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

Making Aviation History on Independence Day, 1908

July 4, 2016 by Bruce Dearstyne 8 Comments

History was made on July 4, 1908, the date of the first pre-announced, publicly-witnessed, officially certified flight of an airplane in the United States.

Who made the historic flight? Hint: it was not the Wright brothers! [Read more…] about Making Aviation History on Independence Day, 1908