Tammy S. Gordon. The Spirit of 1976

As President Richard Nixon began his second term, the approaching bicentennial of the United States tantalized the administration with the prospect of linking history, patriotism, free enterprise, and Nixon in the public mind. The “Spirit of '76” served as the theme for Nixon's inauguration, chaired by J. Willard Marriott, who would also organize the bicentennial celebration at the Kennedy Center on July 3–4, 1976. But, as Tammy S. Gordon demonstrates in her excellent work on the interplay of consumerism, politics, and historical memory, Americans mostly rejected Nixon's efforts to control the message and meaning of the celebration. Instead, they took Nixon at his word when he said that “Any American can be a signer of the Declaration of Independence ... We write our names with the lives we live,” and they individualized the experience according to their own attitudes and agendas. The American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (ARBC), a federal body created in 1966, lasted only to 1973. It failed because Americans rejected the top-down approach to commemoration as well as the overlap between Nixon supporters, corporate leaders, and commission members that tainted ARBC initiatives. The ARBC also found itself in a difficult position of negotiating between private commemorative firms like the Franklin Mint, who wanted the commission's sanction to profit from the bicentennial, and various groups and individuals who feared both the commercialization and politicization of the anniversary. Then, in the wake of the Pentagon Papers, an ARBC staffer leaked documents to the left-wing People's Bicentennial Commission (PBC) that showed how the ARBC actively worked to benefit Nixon politically and his backers financially. As members of Congress began to take a closer look at Watergate, they also investigated the ARBC, which led to its termination and replacement by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA).

Battle · Commission · Declaration of independence · Patriotism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies