A Fourth of July editorial from 150 years ago reflects our struggle with cynicism — and the hope that persists

Editor’s note: This editorial originally ran in the Chicago Tribune 150 years ago on July 4, 1873. It provides a glimpse of what the Tribune thought of our patriotic celebrations at the time and demonstrates that our nation’s concerns and vexations haven’t changed much.

The day we celebrate has arrived, and it is therefore incumbent upon each citizen of Chicago, we presume, to manifest the measure of patriotism which he possesses by such demonstrations in his back-yard of a Star Spangled character as best comport with his dignity and convenience.

The occasion, however, which gave birth to the Fourth of July is now so remote in national history, and the American people have suffered so many petty tyrannies since the English yoke was broken, that the primal meaning of the day has become quite indistinct. The result is that the celebration of the national anniversary has of late years been of a very heterogeneous description.

There is one class of people who make a Fetish of Fourth of July, and fall down and worship it. The other class declares it a nuisance and runs away from it, if it is possible to run away; if not, it bears the infliction with philosophical composure, and rejoices when the last rocket sputters itself away in the clouds, and the eagle screams his last scream.

The former class is conscientious in its Fetish worship, and, like a true devotee, is ready to be crushed under the wheels of the national juggernaut, or to sacrifice itself in some other manner. Some men blow off two or three fingers, or even give up an arm or a leg to their Fetish. Small boys will cheerfully fill their faces with gunpowder, or sacrifice one eye. Some men will get drunk and fall into the river. Some will get drunk, and, in the resultant fights, sacrifice themselves by cold lead or steel. Some will cheerfully contribute a smashed buggy, a wrecked horse, and two or three broken ribs. Others will set fire to their houses or stores, and manifest their devotion by a general illumination. Others will fill themselves to repletion with green peas, cucumbers, and mint juleps, and have the cholera morbus.

The other class of people has already flown from the torture of Fourth of July to remote green pastures, far off sea coasts and distant obscure hamlets, where the eagle never soars, and the Star-Spangled Banner, if it waves at all, waves in a becoming manner; where the Fourth of July orator is as yet unknown, and small girls in white have something else to do besides riding round in chariots and making themselves sick with ice creams and lemonade.

The Fourth of July will have plenty of celebrators. There is no doubt of that. There will be plenty of noise. There is no doubt of that, also. There will be plenty of accidents, casualties, fines, haps and mishaps, also. There is no doubt of that, either. But still the question recurs: What are we making all the fuss about? If we must blow our legs off, and burn up our houses, and fire rockets through our neighbors’ vitals, and get patriotically drunk, and keep the everlasting bird screaming, why not have some motive for it? Why not have some method in our madness?

For nearly a hundred years we have been celebrating a declaration of independence from British power, and hailing Columbia’s heroes of the Heaven-born band, who fought and bled in Freedom’s sacred cause, and also those American tars who “Doused the royal ensign so handy, oh!” Why not for the sake of variety, at least, have a change in the programme?

There is no immediate danger of British tyranny at present, nor is it probable that we shall ever again have to pay taxes to Her Most Gracious Majesty. Why, then, fire the American heart and the Chinese cracker every July? Why not get up a new Declaration of Independence?

The farmers have already got tired of patriotic business when there is nothing to be patriotic about, and shooting squibs at the foreign tyrant who exists no longer, and have got up a Fourth of July of their own, with a brand-new Declaration of Independence. Why should not the whole American people go and do likewise?

There is just as good cause for a Declaration of Independence now as there was a hundred years ago. The evils which King George and his minions inflicted upon us were no worse than the evils which are now inflicted upon us in the name of loyalty.

Let us declare ourselves free from the corruptions of party; from abuses of power; from the monopolies of huge, overgrown corporations; from the dictation of political bummers and scallawags; from the frauds and peculations of carpet-bag knaves; from the speculations and swindlings of Indian agents; from defaulting Government officials; from Credit Mobiliers; from back-salary grabbers; from interference with State Governments; from rotten insurance companies and collapsing banks; from hot corn and grain-gambling; from wheat corners and stock bubbles; from benzine whisky and legislative lobbies; from emotionally insane murderers and free-love scandal-mongers; from filthy alleys and cholera-breeding slums; from fanatical Puritans and crazy free-thinkers; from Jersey champagne and domestic cigars; and, in general, from long-winded Fourth of July orators, fire-crackers, decomposing vegetables, sky-rockets, hand-organs, high taxes, nitro-glycerine in brown paper packages, Banyon, bunko, taxes on pig-iron, intolerance, bigotry, stupidity, and other blessings which are vouchsafed to us under our Republican form of Government in this year of grace and Republicanism, 1873.

Surely, here are grievances enough for a new Declaration of Independence, and material sufficient on which to get up a first-class celebration, with guns, anvils, trumpets, bells, and banners. The old Fourth of July has become mouldy with age. Let us shoot off our fire-crackers for something new and vital, and, if we must sacrifice ourselves to our Fetish, do so with the consciousness that we are contributing our legs, arms, and fingers, and distressing our insurance companies, for something fresher than a centenarian reminiscence. And all this we can do without any sacrifice of patriotism or any diminution of flag, eagle, or fire-cracker.

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