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A ft 'Hi .. 1 • V .-j- . " , '• •• V. Glorious Fourth, Then-Now Many of today's July 4th celebrations bear little resemblance to past festivities. In 1926, a gigantic liberty bell was » erected 1n Philadelphia to mark the 150th anniversary of the signing of^the Dec­ laration of Independence. President Cal­ vin Coolldge, on hand to give a speech, led a parade In his Packard beneath the bell. The eagle as a symboV of this PAGE II - PLAINDBALKR - TUESDAY, JULY I. lM» country ilso has taken many>jforms, as shown 1n this 1860s banner commemorating the Fourth of July. m josmn <HM> staff psychologist .urns fiom N» Fim.l, Stmt* »nd MtnUi HmMi CInnc ¥ HcMmi) CmM). c SmMtMOftian H»wt Sarvtc* INu«raHon courtwy 0» National Muhuki ol Miatory and Tochnotofly Smith tonian N«wt Sarvica Photo courtaay ol Library ol Congraaa "The glorious Second"? Of course not. "The Fourth" is firm in the national mind as the synonym of independence. But July 2 could well have been the nation's birthday, and for a moment 204 years ago John Adams truly thought it would be. It was on July 2,1776, that the Continental Congress, meeting in a^hot, humid Philadelphia,^came to an inevitable but anguished decision-one that Adams told the patriots "rolls in on us like a torrent." Although the Declaration of In­ dependence was pending before the angered Congress, the delegates first voted oh the crucial prin­ ciple of separation contained in a resolution proposed by Richard Henry Lee of , Virginia. Its words tell the . story; "....these United Colonies are/and of right ought to be, free and independent States...and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, an<jLcaight to be, totally dissolved.\ The vote on the Lee resolution, so momentous because of its daring /<-. challenge to mighty Britain, prompted Adams to write to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, "I am apt to believe that (July 2) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival." That, of course, was not t_ be, On July 4, after making a few minor changes, the Congress approved the Declaration of In­ dependence, which Jefferson and four other delegates had been drafting since June 11. - Like the Lee resolution, it announced the intent of the Colonies to be "free and independent," but it was much more detailed, listing the grievances against the Crown, and it was blessed with Jefferson's ringing phrases: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal. And so the commitment to ice became of­ ficial on July 4, and it is that date that became fixed in American history and legend as the beginning of the new nation. For Americans in­ terested in historical footr notes, however, it should be noted that the Declaration was not read from In­ dependence Hall until July 8. And not until July 19 did Congress vote to have document signed by states' delegates to Continental Congress. Apart from missing by two days thel date when his countrymen would celebrate Independence Day, Adams' letter is significant for its confidence in the step that many members of the Continental Congress thought might fail. As B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n remarked at the time of the Independence debate in Philadelphia, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang the the the a separately. J But in hi! v> in his letter to Abigail, Adams displayed no un­ certainty, predicting that in years to come independence would be marked by "...pomp and parade, with shows, games and sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other..." Yet the first anniversary would have gone without notice had it not been for a Philadelphia resident who realized that the one-year mark was approaching. Celebration plans were quickly pulled together and, according to an account by Adams, bells rang all day, bonfires and fireworks lit up the night and 13-gun salutes from warships in the harbor tore the air. A mid-afternoon dinner in a local tavern was accompanied by music and toasts. That was followed by a parade of soldiers an(| |he lighting of candles In &ty windows. As the revolutionary army disbanded, soldiers returned home and pioneers began moving West, the idea of celebrating the Fourth spread to other areas of the new nation. However, "by the time of the 50th anniversary in 1826, many were questioning the way of celebrating in­ dependence," according to s o c i o l o g i s t S h i r l e y Cherkasky, who is responsible for July Fourth research in the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Performing Arts. By then, for example, U.S. leaders believed there should be more meaningful ob­ servances than the custom of allotting an extra ration of rum to the soldiers. A special celebration was planned for July 4, 1826 - it would npt follow the usual style df "frying chickens, firing away damaged powder or fuddling our noses over tavern wine," as one newspaper put it. Instead, dignitaries who had taken part in the events of July 1776 were invited to ciPhiladelphia,, for com­ memorative ceremonies. Ironically, Thomas Jef­ ferson and John Adams, who had declined the honor because of ill health, both died on that July Fourth, exactly 50 years after ap­ proval of the Declaration. A number of customs that began with the early celebrations in Philadelphia continued for a century or more. A public reading of the Declaration of In­ dependence, for one, was a popular event on most July Fourth schedules for years. Orations and parades also were customary. "Oratory was an art in the early days," Harold Closter of the Smithsonian's Performing Arts division says. "It is said that Daniel/Webster left his duties in Washington each year to go to his hometown in New Hampshire to give the two-hour July Fourth ad­ dress to an audience of thousands." The popular appeal of a number of famous orators, including Webster, who quoted from the Greek with great fervor and patriotism, emerged at this time. Orations soon turned into p o l i t i c a l s p e e c h e s , a n d v campaign promises by the candidates followed right along. "Traditionally," H e r b e r t C o l l i n s , Smithsonian political history curator, says, "Fourth of July festivities have been used as a testing ground for politicians kicking off their campaign. Of course, fireworks of one sort or another have been popular Independence day aturctions for more than 200 yeffs, since the time of the early bonfires and lighting of candles in Philadelphia. But firecrackers and other ex­ plosives in hands of children and amateurs eventually came under attack from community leaders who ' called for a' "safe and sane Fourth." In the early 1900s, the Chicago Tribune laun­ ched a campaign for a safer holiday without deaths, injuries and fires from ex­ plosives, and 1903 saw the •citizens of Springfield, Mass., ban the sale of ex­ plosive devices. "By the 1950/," Mrs. Cherkasky says, " many states had omlawed Che use of private fireworks, and municipal authorities were presenting the displays." "The Victorian idea of excess," she adds, "per- p vaded the 100-year an­ niversary in 1876 and helped to bring a resurgence in patriotic celebrations of the holiday." An elaborate in­ ternational exposition of arts and manufacturing and pro­ ducts of farm and mine, in­ cluding exhibits from more than 50J foreign countries, was organized on 284 acres of Philadelphia's Fairmount park. There were hundreds of large and small structures at the park, with the main building alone covering 20 acres. The Centennial exhibition's collection of eqiupment aikl products impressed foreign visitors, demonstrating thaf the United States had become a major industrial and economic power. As this new giant grew older, it slowly dropped the concept of the Fourth as a quasi-military exercise with cannon salutes and extra : rum for the men in uniform. And during the 20th century, particularly after World War II, the holiday became fir­ mly established as a family event. y Picnics, barbecues and fish fries have taken the, place of the customary r e c i t a t i o n s , p a t r i o t i c speeches and long-winded oratory--except for the 1976 Bicentennial during which just about, any kind of commemorative activity could be found somewhere in the country on July Fourth. But whatever way In­ dependence day is celebrated, John Adams, after all, wrfs only iwo days off the mark when he wrote Abigail: "The Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America." and un- the Critical Care Nurses At Hospital Organize Critical care nurses at McHenry hospital are now forming a chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). The association is a n a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l "organization of 34,000 founded "to assure quality care in all nursing units," a c c o r d i n g t o K a y Rutishauser, R.N. "Our chapter will be called the Greater Chain-o- Lakes chapter, and our motto is: This is your op­ portunity to make a great nurse look better.' We look forward to sponsoring lec­ tures and seminars which will inform and instruct us in our professional skills. All staff nurses are eligible to join," she said. Further information may be obtained from Ms. Rutishauser at 385-2200, extension 716. " C u l t u r e S h o c k " originally was a term coined to describe the difficult adjustment experienced by people moving to a different country, and their struggle to adapt to new customs. In any large city, one can find neighborhoods in which foreign immigrants are in transition "between the culture they have left the American culture. Some immigrants, comfortable with prospect of change, never completely adapt to the new culture, nevpr learn English, never try new foods, never attempt to make American friends. This behavior is not simply an expression of nationalistic feelings, but mainly a psychological inability to adjust to the new culture. The people who are most likely to experience "culture shock" are people who generally are fairly rigid and, not surprisingly, find it difficult to change. Anyone who has traveled to a foreign country either has ex­ perienced, or has seen other tourists experience, a minor "culture shock". These are people who will constantly complain about u n c o m f o r t a b l e a c ­ commodations and are unwilling to try the food of the country they are visiting. These tourists are constantly irate and will engage in arguments with the residents about anything, that is dissimilar to things at home. People who eagerly try the strange food, readily make tendsv friends with the people of the host country and consider it a pleasant adventure to cope with different customs and accommodations never experience the unpleasant s y m j p t o m s ( a n g e r , depression) of culture shock. One fact may help the traveler adjust lo the changes necessary to enjoy a trip to another country: remember that you are the "foreigner"; people of the host country are not going to adjuat lo our culture, you must have the determination lo expect vast differences, and not try lo change the customs of the people you are visiting. IVETHIS When You Ploce Your GARAGE SALE Adv. With Us* 1R A Sonyx All Garage Sale Adv Must De Pre-Paid In our office. THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER r CHANGE THOSE UNWANTED ITEMS INTO 3812 W. Elm McHenry, III.