The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, in the United States of America commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This document declared that thirteen American colonies were free and independent states and no longer subordinate to the rule of King George III, the monarch of Britain.

The legal separation actually occurred on 2 July when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a ‘resolution of independence’ from British rule. However, the final approval of the document, principally authored by Thomas Jefferson with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin as part of the Committee of Five, took place two days later and was signed by representatives of the thirteen states at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia.

The Committee of Five are different from the Founding Fathers of the United States. These were a group of leaders who united the colonies, led the war for independence from Britain, and built a framework of government for the new United States of America. The Founding Fathers included seven key people: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington.

This important day in American history has been celebrated since 1777 in various ways by different states before the U.S. Congress finally declared Independence Day a federal holiday in 1938. Curiously, both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams (the only signatories of the Declaration of Independence to serve as Presidents) both died on 4 July 1826 – the 50^th anniversary of the signing.

The day is typically marked by patriotic displays and decorations in the red, white and blue colours of the American flag. The colours of the flag are drawn from heraldry and have symbolic meanings: red indicating hardiness, valour and the blood spilled by patriots, white signifying purity and innocence, and blue denoting vigilance, perseverance and justice. With the recent racial and political unrest in America, Australian photographer, Darren Sylvester’s image is especially relevant.

Francis Hopkinson, a naval flag designer from New Jersey, and signatory to the Declaration of Independence, designed the first version of the ‘stars and stripes’ in 1777. In June of that year, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: ‘the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation’. The design has only altered slightly since then to incorporate fifty stars representing the fifty states. Flag Day is also celebrated with parades, events and the displaying of the flag on 14 June each year.

The most famous modern artwork that references the American flag is ‘Flag’ by Jasper Johns from 1954 which is in the collection of MoMA in New York. Johns’ description of how he chose to create the work is quite simple. He said: ‘One night I dreamed that I painted a large American flag, and the next morning I got up and I went out and bought the materials to begin it’. However, Johns created this encaustic painting over newspaper clippings at a time when American patriotism was uppermost in the minds of its citizens. It was the period of the Cold War, the McCarthy hearings were concluding, President Eisenhower had amended the ‘pledge of allegiance’ to include the words ‘under God’, it was the 175^th anniversary of Francis Scott Key (composer of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’), the Iwo Jima Memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery was dedicated, and the New York Times had run articles on facts, myths and the ‘discipline’ of the flag.

Johns also had a personal connection with flags. He was named ‘Jasper’ after Sergeant William Jasper who had rescued the fallen South Carolina flag in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in the American Revolutionary War. The symbolic nature of the flag was clearly important to Johns and he made over 40 works based on it over the years – including a version which is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. Johns’ Flag is both an abstraction of an idea and a symbol which raises the question – what does the flag become when it is painted?

Creating an artistic representation of the flag was not without controversy and Alfred Barr, the director of MoMA was concerned that it might be unpatriotic for the museum to buy it. However, Barr recognised the work as significant and arranged for his friend the American architect Philip Johnson to purchase it and to gift it to the museum ‘in the future’ – which ultimately happened when Barr retired in 1968.

Americans like to celebrate, and Independence Day is commonly associated with parades, carnivals, fairs, concerts, picnics, barbecues and …. fireworks. This year the surge in coronavirus infections and ongoing civil unrest will prove a challenge and many events have been cancelled as coronavirus infections escalate. However, the U.S. President is determined to have a celebration with speeches and a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Fortunately, the Mount Rushmore memorial park has had some recent rain as fireworks have been banned for the past decade amid concerns about wildfires. Perhaps the safest way to participate in the event is shown in the photograph by Lee Friedlander.

For those wishing to acknowledge Independence Day in Australia, you might consider watching ‘Hamilton’ – a filmed version of the much-lauded Broadway musical – which has commenced screening on Disney+. This incredible theatrical experience blends hip-hop, jazz, and R&B in telling the story of the extraordinary American Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. The show also contains the song – ‘The Room Where it Happened’ – which is the title of the recent memoir by John Bolton (previous National Security Advisor to President Trump). A political parody of the song by Randy Rainbow can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h56N_uwS7c

For a range of opinions about Independence Day 2020, the website ‘Cognoscenti’ has a series of mini-essays from Americans sharing their ideas about their country currently: https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/07/02/fourth-of-july-frannie-carr-toth-cloe-axelson