The United States Bicentennial found the country riding a fresh wave of patriotism that had been lacking during the tumultuous years of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal. Perhaps preemptively sensing that need for a unifying event, Congress established the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission on July 4, 1966.
Originally, the Commission intended to plan an exposition in either Boston or Philadelphia; however, the commission experienced its own tumult, and after six and a half years of infighting they could not agree upon a single event. In December 1973, the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission was dissolved and replaced with the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. The Administration recommended that Bicentennial celebrations should extend throughout the country under the supervision of state and local agencies. And while there would be no “Expo ‘76” in Boston, the city and its surrounding towns set out to plan unforgettable bicentennial events.
Those celebrations kicked off in April 1975 to commemorate Paul Revere’s ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. President Gerald Ford visited the Old North Church in Boston to mark the 200th anniversary of Revere’s ride by lighting a lantern. The following day, he traveled to Concord and Lexington.
Much like they had during the Centennial, the Towns of Lexington and Concord planned elaborate Patriots’ Day celebrations. Committees in Concord had been gearing up for the Bicentennial since 1967. The 1975 Celebrations Committee secured $106,000 for the event, promising to devote much of that to public safety and comfort concerns that had been neglected at the Centennial celebration.
When April 19, 1975 arrived, President Ford was joined by hundreds of distinguished guests alongside 120,000 members of the general public. The Town of Concord dedicated two memorial foundations at the celebration: the Center for the Performing Arts and the Concord Forum for International Peace and Understanding.
President Ford then arrived in Lexington, where he spoke at a ceremony on the Battle Green. Lexington, too, had been preparing for some time. The Lexington Bicentennial Band, formed in 1974, held their first performance on April 19, 1975. But it wasn’t their last—the town band still performs today!
Bicentennial celebrations across America continued through July 4, 1976. The United States Postal Service issued commemorative stamps and the U.S. Mint issued commemorative coins. The American Freedom Train toured throughout the forty-eight contiguous states. A Bicentennial Wagon Train traced America’s westward expansion in reverse. Operation Sail, a fleet of tall ships, visited major East Coast ports.
In smaller American towns, such as those in Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, celebrations had a more local flavor. Many towns, like Groton, held Bicentennial parades or fireworks while other locations, such as the deCordova Museum in Lincoln, held special exhibits. Pepperell hosted a Bicentennial canoe race, citizens of Stow sewed a Bicentennial quilt, and three Acton women wrote a Bicentennial-themed musical for children. These municipal celebrations allowed for far more participation than a single-city exposition would have. The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration reported that over 90% of Americans participated in at least one Bicentennial-related activity.
The Bicentennial certainly wasn’t a panacea. For some, it was less a celebration of liberty than an opportunity to speak out about a lack thereof. In 1973, a group including the Disabled American Veterans kicked off the Bicentennial of the Boston Tea Party by tossing mock oil barrels into Boston Harbor, protesting the Nixon Administration’s lack of environmental protections and other social justice reforms. On April 17-18, 1975, the People's Bicentennial Commission staged a massive camp out at the North Bridge in Concord to protest the economy and the power of giant corporations during President Ford's visit. In what is remembered as the Trail of Self-Determination, members of several tribal nations formed a caravan along the route of the Bicentennial Wagon Train to demand Native rights as detailed in the Twenty Points program previously developed for the Trail of Broken Treaties four years prior.
No matter how Americans chose to participate in the Bicentennial, there was no question these gatherings were uniquely American. As the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration’s director, Senator John Warner of Virginia, pointed out, “If the Bicentennial had proved nothing else, it proved that America was alive and well in 1976.”