Changes

The Fourth is an affirmation of Americanism for Americans in remote locations (such as the Overland Trail in the 1850s) and for Americans overseas. They hold special celebrations at embassies and consulates, as well as private parties wherever expatriates gather.  

The Fourth is an affirmation of Americanism for Americans in remote locations (such as the Overland Trail in the 1850s) and for Americans overseas. They hold special celebrations at embassies and consulates, as well as private parties wherever expatriates gather.  

===Oratory===

===Oratory===

Typical celebration in the west during the early 1820s paid tribute to the pioneers, observed the customs and traditions of their old homes, alluded to current problems, and sought to reconcile political interests for the occasion. Lawyers were called on to read the Declaration of Independence and to discuss its current and future meaning. Special tribute was paid to Washington and the Founding Fathers, as well as to the personification of the "Genius of Liberty" which would advance both the spiritual and material basis of the United States and counteract the influence of Europe's despotic monarchism. The moral and religious tone of the celebration was accompanied by a general interest in eating, drinking, and offering toasts. The general acceptance of verbose, exaggerated, and ungrammatical Fourth of July oratory was not the result of ignorance. It was based on the idea that people were in danger of losing their liberty, when they forgot to commemorate the manner in which it was won.  

Typical celebration in the west during the early 1820s paid tribute to the pioneers, observed the customs and traditions of their old homes, alluded to current problems, and sought to reconcile political interests for the occasion. Lawyers were called on to read the Declaration of Independence and to discuss its current and future meaning. Special tribute was paid to Washington and the Founding Fathers, as well as to the personification of the "Genius of Liberty" which would advance both the spiritual and material basis of the United States and counteract the influence of Europe's despotic monarchism. The moral and religious tone of the celebration was accompanied by a general interest in eating, drinking, and offering toasts. The general acceptance of verbose, exaggerated, and ungrammatical Fourth of July oratory was not the result of ignorance. It was based on the idea that people were in danger of losing their liberty, when they forgot to commemorate the manner in which it was won.

 

 

===Antebellum Southern whites===

===Antebellum Southern whites===

From 1778 to 1821 orations in the South reflected the nationalist feeling of the period, but in the next decade the threat to the expansion of slavery created an undertone of suspicion. In 1831 and 1832 nullification dominated the celebration, and the abolitionist threat and the horror of slave revolt appeared next. In the 1840s and 1850s the orators defended the institution of slavery. In the five years before the outbreak of the Civil War orators in Charleston and other deep South cities began to accept secession as inevitable. From 1847 to 1860 the orators spoke increasingly with one voice against the hostile action of the federal government. In the border states the emphasis was more on preserving the Union at all costs.

From 1778 to 1821 orations in the South reflected the nationalist feeling of the period, but in the next decade the threat to the expansion of slavery created an undertone of suspicion. In 1831 and 1832 nullification dominated the celebration, and the abolitionist threat and the horror of slave revolt appeared next. In the 1840s and 1850s the orators defended the institution of slavery. In the five years before the outbreak of the Civil War orators in Charleston and other deep South cities began to accept secession as inevitable. From 1847 to 1860 the orators spoke increasingly with one voice against the hostile action of the federal government. In the border states the emphasis was more on preserving the Union at all costs.