Published: Jul 04, 2019, 05:25 IST | Updated: Jul 04, 2019, 05:25 IST
John Adams predicted in a 1776 letter that the nation would mark the anniversary of its independence as “the most memorable Epocha in the History of America,” hosting a great anniversary festival that ought to be “solemnized” forever after with “Pomp and Parade … Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”