As John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail following a congressional vote for independence on July 2, 1776, “[This date] ought to be Solemnized with Pomp and Parade with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” The future father of the Alien and Sedition Acts was justifiably proud and excited. Consumer spending on Fourth of July fireworks will total around $2.5 billion this year. Many people today don’t know or care why we celebrate this event — nothing new about that. Nor is the fact that most Fourth concerts segue to fireworks with the rousing 1812 Overture something to ponder — we made Tchaikovsky an honorary American long ago.
But for those who took the risk of signing the Declaration, it was the document’s affirmation of the individual over government that became the hill they would die on if necessary. Government was a necessary evil, as Paine wrote, but that wouldn’t stop them from somehow putting the people at the top of the food chain.
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