As we move toward the nation’s 250th birthday next month, this column has looked back at earlier milestone celebrations, beginning with the 50th, to provide historical context for where we are now.
July 4, 1976, marked the 200th anniversary of American independence. President Gerald Ford, in office then, used the occasion to reflect on the meaning of milestones throughout history.
“The American settlers had many, many hardships, but they had more liberty than any other people on Earth,” Ford said. “The verse from Leviticus on the Liberty Bell refers to the ancient Jewish year of Jubilee. In every 50th year, the Jubilee restored the land and the equality of persons.”
The population of the United States was 218 million in 1976. Today, it’s 342 million.
Bicentennial merriment included the customary festivities — parades, picnics and fireworks — as well as television specials and re-enactments of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Operation Sail brought more than 200 tall ships and naval vessels into New York Harbor, where they paraded around the Statue of Liberty and drew 6 million spectators. Philadelphia, birthplace of the Declaration, staged numerous patriotic events, including a five-hour parade with floats from every state.
That week in Washington, President Ford and first lady Betty Ford hosted a glamorous state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. Of course, it was the queen’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, King George III, who had been forcefully defied by the Declaration of Independence for having “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt out towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.”
But by 1976, that was ancient history.
“For the Queen's dinner,” recalled Mrs. Ford, “we had violinists stationed along the paths, and to be out in the gorgeous night air, with the moon shining down and the violins playing as you walked by, was unforgettable.” She continued, “An hour and a half before the Queen's dinner, there was a sudden downpour with torrential rain, thunder, lightning. Three trees on the White House grounds were struck. Fortunately, I'd insisted that our (outdoor) tent have a floor.”
Dinner guests included Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Chief Justice Warren Burger, Lady Bird Johnson, D.C. Mayor Walter Washington, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Cary Grant, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Mays, Bob Hope and Telly Savalas, along with spouses and escorts. Musical duo Captain & Tennille played their hits.
Ford was the only commander in chief who was never elected president or vice president. He was appointed vice president by Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew, charged with corruption, resigned. Later, when Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford moved into the White House and pledged to bring an end to what he called “our long national nightmare” of the Watergate scandal.
In New Orleans, a bicentennial concert was held at the Superdome, quickly becoming a popular venue for major national events. Jimmy Buffett, Emmylou Harris, John Sebastian, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Charlie Daniels Band, George Carlin and Cheech & Chong performed.
A crowd gathered in Jackson Square for the unveiling of a statue of Louis Armstrong, which was later moved to Armstrong Park, and a “Bicentennial Mardi Gras” was celebrated on Bourbon Street featuring 1776 themes. Earlier, the American Freedom Train, showcasing an exhibit of historical artifacts, stopped near the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge.
Just eight days after the Fourth, the Democratic Party nominated Jimmy Carter for president and Walter Mondale for vice president in New York. Later that summer in Kansas City, Ford won the Republican nomination for a full term by defeating former California Gov. Ronald Reagan in a close contest. Not long after, Hank Aaron hit his 755th home run, a major league baseball record that held for more than three decades.
In 1976, Edwin Edwards was serving the second of what would become four terms as governor of h. Moon Landrieu was in his second term as mayor of New Orleans and Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Dumas was in the third of his four terms as mayor-president of Baton Rouge. The Saints hired Hank Stram as head coach and posted a disappointing 4-10 record. Coach Charlie McClendon led the LSU Tigers to a 6-4-1 season.
That’s how it was on July 4, 1976 — a half-century ago.