History Behind News Program

S3E25: History of July 2nd. Sorry, I meant July 4th.


Listen Later

What is Decoration Day? Did the South celebrate the 4th of July?

As it turns out, the history of the 4th of July is not that straightforward. For example, it took about a century for the recognition of our Independence Day as a federal holiday. And for some 80 years after the Civil war, some parts of the South, including Vicksburg, did not celebrate the 4th of July. It took WWII to create a new sense of nationalism, including the national celebration of the 4th of July.  

To better understand the history of our Independence Day, I spoke with Dr. Thomas Balcerski, a professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State
University. For the academic year of 2022-2023, Dr. Balcerski was the Ray Allen Billington Visiting Professor in U.S. History at Occidental College and a Long-Term Fellow at the Huntington Library.

Dr. Balcerski has taught courses on early American history, U.S. Presidents and First Ladies, and the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to

Joe Biden. To learn more about Dr. Balcerski, you can visit his academic home pages at Oxy and Eastern CT.

By the way, be sure to listen to my conversation in S3E1 with Prof. Joel Richard Paul, he told me something very interesting about the 4th of July - that the reason we celebrate 4th of July is because Thomas Jefferson made it a national holiday, in a self-serving way, to elevate the Declaration of Independence. He added that it was Chief Justice Marshall, President Jefferson's chief detractor and also first cousin, who elevated the Constitution over the Declaration of Independence... But the 4th of July's celebration continued and grow in prominence in our culture. This fascinating episode is available here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E1


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music
  2. promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
  4. ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    History Behind News ProgramBy Adel Aali, History Behind News

    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    76 ratings


    More shows like History Behind News Program

    View all
    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    38,649 Listeners

    The Moth by The Moth

    The Moth

    27,275 Listeners

    The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

    The Bill Simmons Podcast

    30,070 Listeners

    Pod Save America by Crooked Media

    Pod Save America

    86,519 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    111,562 Listeners

    Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

    Stay Tuned with Preet

    32,384 Listeners

    Today, Explained by Vox

    Today, Explained

    10,107 Listeners

    Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend by Team Coco & Earwolf

    Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

    59,263 Listeners

    The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

    The Bulwark Podcast

    11,623 Listeners

    Strict Scrutiny by Crooked Media

    Strict Scrutiny

    5,611 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    15,174 Listeners

    The Lincoln Project by The Lincoln Project

    The Lincoln Project

    9,004 Listeners

    Main Justice by MSNBC

    Main Justice

    7,085 Listeners

    Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

    Letters from an American

    5,167 Listeners