How America Celebrated Its Previous Big Birthday in 1976
In 1976, when America’s last big birthday rolled around, the country wasn’t in an obvious mood to celebrate. The Vietnam War and Watergate were fresh in people’s memories. Cities like New York were caught in urban doom loops, and stagflation weighed down the economy.
The bicentennial celebrations offered a break from this national malaise.
For children of the 1970s, it was mostly a chance to celebrate. Kids decorated their bikes with stars and stripes, marched in local parades and painted local fire hydrants red, white and blue–faded examples of which could be seen well into the ’80s. The bicentennial quarter, minted for the occasion, still occasionally turns up in pocket change.
Looking back at photos from the era, with their feathered hair and cutoff jeans, is more than an exercise in nostalgia. If the spirit of 1976 reminds us of anything, it’s that even in uncertain times, the country can throw a good party.
