Let’s relive the patriotic spirit of 1976 and look back at the United States Bicentennial.
If you were around in 1976, I’m sure you remember how excited we were about the United States Bicentennial. The nation commemorated its 200th anniversary with a year-long celebration designed to sweep us all up into a collective Bicentennial Fever.
Planning for the Bicentennial started a full decade earlier with the creation of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (ARBC), which was charged with organizing, promoting, and coordinating commemorative events across the country. The commission didn’t need to do a lot of encouraging; everyone wanted to be part of the celebration. Businesses ran bicentennial-themed ads and produced patriotic merchandise. Local governments from even the smallest cities planned local celebrations and tried to find anything in their history that tied back to the Revolutionary War. Families planned their summer vacations around the most significant events.
We were united as our country in our excitement, ready to look back with pride on the previous 200 years and look forward optimistically to the next 200.
- What Was the United States Bicentennial?
- Bicentennial Fever: A Year-Long Celebration
- Major Events of the 1976 Bicentennial
- Bicentennial Coins, Stamps, and Memorabilia
- Hometown Celebrations and Personal Memories
- Pop Culture and Media in 1976
- Why the Bicentennial Mattered
- Comparisons to the United States Centennial (1876)
- Looking Forward: The USA’s 250th Anniversary (2026)
- Conclusion: Celebrating America’s Spirit, Then and Now
What Was the United States Bicentennial?
The United States Bicentennial commemorated the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. More than just fireworks and parades, the Bicentennial celebrations reflected our national pride and offered the country a chance to reflect on the two centuries of history.
Every city pulled out all the stops to celebrate its place in our country’s history. There were parades with floats, of course, and also concerts, bake-offs, galas, and pageants. School children dressed in colonial costumes and acted in plays showcasing important times in our country’s history.
The Bicentennial also gave the country a chance to celebrate the many virtues that unite us, rather than focusing on the differences that divide us. The years before our 200th birthday had been turbulent with the resignation of President Nixon and the bitter protests against the Vietnam War. The Bicentennial was a moment of shared celebration and hope.
Bicentennial Fever
As we counted down to the big day, the country was gripped with Bicentennial Fever. If something could be turned into a patriotic celebration, it was. Clifton, New Jersey, hired teens to paint the city’s fire hydrants in patriotic red, white, and blue. Burbank, California, took that spirit one step further and painted all their fire hydrants to look like important people in the American Revolution.
Even private citizens joined in the fun. According to the New York Times, the Srokas family in New Jersey. painted their entire house red, white, and blue. Folks drove by from all over the Tri-State region to marvel at their home.
Reddit user Wonderfountain remembered:
Brands Went All-In (And We Loved It)
Of course, brands wanted to get in on the action. It was the year of “put a flag on it.” You could mow your lawn on a red, white, and blue tractor or light your cigarettes with a snazzy Zippo lighter. Family wants takeout for dinner? Why not bring up some Kentucky Fried Chicken in a snazzy commemorative box and enjoy it with some Falstaff beer? Maybe you can call up some friends to join you on your red, white and blue rotary phone?
Brands participated in the hoopla in other ways as well. They offered educational content, so you could understand the importance of the event. Kellogg’s Special K, for instance, had a profile of famous patriots such as Ben Franklin on the back of their box so you could learn about his importance while having your morning cereal box read. (Remember when we used to do that?)
McDonald’s, never a company to shy away from jumping into a trend with both feet, offered both flag-based products and educational content by providing a copy of the Declaration of Independence, for your reading pleasure, when you purchased one of their Bicentennial-themed red, white, or blue shakes.
One way a brand can acquire a bit of the shine from a big event like the Bicentennial is with a prestige commercial celebrating the upcoming event and mentioning as an aside, “Hey, just so you know, we’re also pretty awesome.”
Nobody did this better in the 1970s than Budweiser. Would you expect any less from the King of Beers? This commercial puts the Budweiser Clydesdales on the streets of Boston to reaffirm that Budweiser, like the icons of the Revolutionary War, cares about tradition, craftsmanship, and quality. After all, “When you say Bud, you’ve said it all.”
The American Freedom Train
It wasn’t just brands that were excited to hype up the Bicentennial. The American Freedom Train, a privately organized endeavor, became one of the most ambitious and patriotic spectacles of the 1976 celebration. Spearheaded by steam enthusiast Ross Rowland, the train was conceived as a rolling museum to rekindle national pride during a time of political disillusionment.
With significant backing from corporate sponsors like PepsiCo and General Motors, and support from President Nixon, the project gained access to over 500 historical artifacts, including George Washington’s copy of the Constitution and Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. The 26-car train, adorned in red, white, and blue, toured all 48 contiguous states, stopping in 138 cities and attracting over 7 million visitors who experienced the exhibits via a moving walkway.
The train gave Americans, who were feeling worn out from the chaos of the early 1970s, a chance to look back and feel proud of the country’s achievements. Local Bicentennial groups often planned their celebrations to match the train’s arrival, so visitors, inspired by the exhibits, could come together with their neighbors and celebrate the nation.
Tall Ships Took Over New York Harbor
Few Bicentennial events captured the public’s imagination like the Grand Parade of Sailing Ships on July 4, 1976. Organized under Operation Sail (OpSail), the parade brought together 16 tall ships from around the world, sailing into New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty in a breathtaking maritime procession.
Accompanied by over 100 official support vessels and an estimated 30,000 private boats flitting around the harbor, the event was a tribute to the nation’s seafaring heritage and a symbol of international goodwill. Planning for OpSail 1976 began five years earlier and was shaped by the vision of Frank Braynard and Nils Hansell, who had launched the first Operation Sail during the 1964 World’s Fair.
The tall ships included the U.S. Coast Guard’s Eagle, Denmark’s Danmark, the Soviet barque Kruzenshtern, and Argentina’s Libertad, among others. As the fleet sailed up the Hudson River under full sail, President Gerald Ford reviewed the armada from the USS Forrestal, offering words of appreciation on behalf of the American people. The celebrations extended far beyond the water, with a ticker-tape parade for the international sailors, formal balls, and an enormous fireworks show that revived John Adams’ call for July 4th to be commemorated “with illuminations.”
The parade was the real highlight of the Bicentennial for a lot of people. It was a genuine moment of awe and inspiration, a real contrast to the more commercialized aspects of the 1976 celebrations.
Bicentennial Coins, Stamps, and Memorabilia
One of the most visible and lasting legacies of the 1976 Bicentennial celebration came in the form of pocket change. The U.S. Mint released commemorative Bicentennial coins with special Bicentennial artwork on the back of the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins. Each coin was marked with dual dates, “1776–1976.”
These coins were released into general circulation starting in 1975, and billions were produced. While most are still worth face value in circulated condition, uncirculated and proof specimens carry more value: clad uncirculated quarters typically sell for $3–$10, 40% silver proof half dollars for $20–$50, and pristine silver Eisenhower dollars can reach $50 or more. Exceptional examples, like error coins or perfect “Deep Cameo” proofs, have sold for thousands. One rare 1976 Eisenhower dollar error coin brought in a staggering $850,000 at auction.
These coins gave every American a chance to participate in the Bicentennial. It was always exciting when a Bicentennial coin showed up in your change. The drummer boy quarter, in particular, became iconic and still shows up in circulation today, making it one of the most widely recognized commemorative coins ever minted. Their popularity also helped pave the way for later programs like the 50 State Quarters.
The U.S. Postal Service also played a major role in the Bicentennial festivities with an ambitious stamp program spanning several years. Starting in the early 1970s and continuing through 1983, the Bicentennial Series was one of the largest commemorative efforts in postal history. Rather than issuing a single stamp or a handful of designs, the USPS released dozens of different issues highlighting Revolutionary War battles, Founding Fathers, state flags, colonial life, and landmark events like the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Among the most iconic issues was the 13-cent “Spirit of ’76” stamp released in 1976, featuring a reproduction of Archibald Willard’s famous painting of three Revolutionary War soldiers marching in rhythm. Another standout was the pane of four 13-cent stamps commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, adapted from John Trumbull’s famous painting that hangs in the Capitol Rotunda. The USPS also released a stamp honoring the Bicentennial Era itself, complete with the official red, white, and blue star-shaped logo created by Bruce Blackburn.
Of course, businesses were also happy to offer Bicentennial souvenirs for you to purchase. Every magazine had ads for special plates, mugs, stamps, spoons, and just about anything else you could imagine.
Other Special Bicentennial Events
The Bicentennial Year was packed with big events celebrating our nation’s past. The Smithsonian Institution held a 12-week-long Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife on the National Mall, with more than 5,000 participants and drawing in over 4.5 million visitors. Folk artists, musicians, craftspeople, and cultural representatives from across the country and the world shared their traditions, making it one of the largest and most inclusive celebrations of American identity ever staged. Just days after the festival began, the Smithsonian also opened the doors of the brand-new National Air and Space Museum. The museum’s July 1, 1976, debut was perfectly timed to welcome the millions of Bicentennial tourists visiting Washington, D.C., and instantly became one of the most popular attractions in the country.
NASA commemorated the occasion with a futuristic science and technology exposition, “Third Century America,” at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The exhibit, housed in a series of dramatic geodesic domes, featured displays by 16 federal agencies and 10 major corporations offering visions of life in America’s next 100 years.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip even visited the U.S. from July 6 to July 11 to show there were no hard feelings between the United States and Great Britain. Their tour included stops in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and Boston. In Philadelphia, the Queen gifted the United States a Bicentennial Bell cast in the same London foundry as the Liberty Bell and gave a memorable speech honoring America’s independence.
Other national events brought the celebration directly to communities across the country. The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage retraced pioneer routes from Blaine, Washington, to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, arriving on July 4, 1976. At 2:00 p.m. on Independence Day, bells rang out nationwide in a synchronized event called “Let Freedom Ring,” meant to echo the chimes that rang in 1776. That night, President Gerald Ford presided over a massive fireworks show in Washington that was televised nationwide.
Families Hit the Road to See the USA
The 1976 Bicentennial sparked a nationwide wave of family travel, as Americans took to the road, skies, and railways to celebrate the country’s 200th birthday. Despite the lingering effects of the energy crisis and rising inflation, travel boomed: airline traffic jumped nearly 10% from the year before, and road trips surged as gas prices stabilized around 60 cents per gallon. Families packed into station wagons and campers, with maps spread across dashboards, ready to turn the celebration into a once-in-a-lifetime patriotic road trip.
Historic destinations were top of mind. Independence Hall in Philadelphia welcomed 4.2 million visitors( twice its 1975 total), and Colonial Williamsburg saw a 35% increase in attendance thanks to immersive reenactments and royal appearances. Meanwhile, the National Park Service broke visitation records as families flocked to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, turning natural wonders into patriotic backdrops for summer vacations.
Even Disney got in on the action with its “America on Parade” event, featuring patriotic floats, costumed performers, and red-white-and-blue Mickey ears that turned both Disneyland and Walt Disney World into unofficial pilgrimage sites.
On a more local level, the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA) encouraged grassroots celebrations that brought families together in parades, backyard barbecues, and family reunions. Over 12,000 local parades were held across the country, rural tourism jumped 22%, and a Gallup survey reported that 83% of households celebrated at home in some way. Economic impact followed: tourism spending hit $110 billion, road trips made up 62% of family vacations, and Bicentennial merchandise alone generated $2.3 billion in sales. Despite some travel hurdles—including an Amtrak strike and overcrowded parks—the 1976 Bicentennial turned travel into a form of national storytelling, helping families quite literally retrace the country’s path through history.
Hometown Celebrations
Families and neighbors turned the country’s 200th birthday into a year-long festival of community pride and creative patriotism. Inspired by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration’s push for grassroots involvement, more than 12,000 locally organized parades and events sprang up across the country. Children dressed as Minutemen and Betsy Ross marched behind homemade floats. Parents stitched colonial costumes, churches hosted barbecues, and Girl Scouts in bonnets passed out lemonade.
Costumes were especially central to the celebration, particularly for schoolchildren. Public schools staged colonial pageants, poster contests, and reenactments of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Homemade bonnets and tricorne hats were worn with pride in class photos, while patriotic crafts, like liberty bells cut from construction paper and yarn dolls in 18th-century dress, lined classroom walls.
What set the Bicentennial apart was how ordinary people shaped it. Whether they were watching Johnny Cash serve as Grand Marshal in D.C., waving flags at Operation Sail in New York, or grilling hot dogs on a driveway in Iowa, Americans embraced the spirit of 1776 in ways that were proudly homespun. Despite the turbulence of the previous decade, the Bicentennial fostered a rare moment of shared optimism. We just wanted to celebrate the country together.
The Bicentennial in The Bicentennial on TV, Film, and Magazines
Television coverage turned July 4 into a wall-to-wall media event. CBS’s In Celebration of Us, anchored by Walter Cronkite, featured live coverage from around the country, including the Bicentennial Wagon Train, the tall ships of Operation Sail, and fireworks in Boston and New York. Prime-time specials like Happy Birthday, America, and Bob Hope’s variety show filled living rooms with patriotic performances. ABC aired The Great American Birthday Party, spotlighting highlights from President Ford’s speeches and the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival. Meanwhile, CBS’s Bicentennial Minutes delivered 60-second historical vignettes every night at around 8:30, narrated by everyone from Betty Ford to Vincent Price.
Even kids got in on the Bicentennial moment. Schoolhouse Rock! introduced its “America Rock” series, with songs like I’m Just a Bill and The Preamble becoming instant classroom staples. These animated shorts used catchy tunes to turn civics lessons into earworms, blending entertainment with education in a way that stuck with a generation.
The big screen, the Bicentennial served as both backdrop and punchline. Rocky tapped directly into the national mood, staging Apollo Creed’s title fight as a Bicentennial spectacle complete with George Washington costumes and red, white, and blue fanfare. John Huston’s short film Independence, produced for the National Park Service, offered a more earnest cinematic take, screened for visitors at Independence Hall. Meanwhile, the disaster comedy The Big Bus slipped a “Bicentennial Dining Room” into its satirical portrayal of 1970s excess.
Even magazines like Cosmopolitan, which is not a magazine you would expect to be interested in the event, gave readers a Bicentennial version of one of the magazine’s famous quizzes.
Looking Forward: The USA’s 250th Anniversary (2026)
As the United States gears up to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, we can expect that plenty of spectacles will appear on the docket. The Smithsonian is rolling out 14 exhibitions, the National Archives will showcase original founding documents, and there’s even a nationwide bell-ringing ceremony planned again, but this time spotlighting women’s contributions to history.
There’s also a time capsule going into the ground in Philadelphia, meant to be opened in 2276. We won’t be around to see it, but it’s oddly comforting to know someone’s already planning America’s 500th birthday party.
As we look forward to the upcoming 250th celebration, we recognize how vital such milestones are, allowing us to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our collective past and future. What are your favorite memories from America’s Bicentennial? Share your stories, and let’s keep the spirit of ’76 alive.
