Stumblin' Along 7/7 '24
America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
- July 4th Facts
- Union Square Park
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Ray Charles' rendition of America the Beautiful.
Originally this song was written in poem form by Katharine Lee Bates in 1895. Miss Bates was an English professor from Massachusetts and felt compelled to write America the Beautiful from her experience of traveling to Colorado Springs during a summer teaching job. She went on a group tour around the Rocky Mountains and when she got back to her hotel room she started jotting down the first draft.
A little-known fact, but before this song, America was much less seldomly used to reference the country in those days. For instance, it never comes up in The Star-Spangled Banner, and most people would just say the United States. By the time Teddy Roosevelt came into office, he loved this poem and started using America in his vernacular.
(Source: SongFacts)
This part wasn’t in Katherine Lee Bates’ drafts, it may have been ad-libbed by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, or one of the many other artists who made their version.
The Rocky Mountains sure are majestic.
I forgot to mention that her poem was first published on July 4, 1895. "Miss Bates's poem has the true patriotic ring pertinent to Fourth of July”, said the editor of The Congregationalist.
Great song to end July 4th Weekend., reminds me of The Sandlot.
1. Fireworks
According to the National Geographic, Americans have celebrated July 4th since 1777. Congress that year authorized the first fireworks celebration. George Washington threw a party in Princeton, New Jersey, with his troops, while Benjamin Franklin was throwing down in Paris with elite Frenchies and fellow expat Americans abroad. Franklin was on a mission to get France involved in the American Revolution. Today, Americans set off an estimated 300 million pounds of fireworks, which comes out to nearly a pound an American citizen. The fireworks industry plans its whole year’s worth of production around the holiday. The American Pyrotechnics Association director, Julie Heckman explained, "At least 90 percent of their revenue is based on Independence Day. For the professional display industry, it's probably 75 percent."
2. Hot Dogs
Americans eat about 150 million hot dogs every July 4th. That’s enough to stretch from sea to shining sea 5 times. During the American summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 7 billion hot dogs are said to be consumed.
(Source: Hot Dog Dot Org)
3. Baseball
America’s Pastime has been played in the US dating back to the 1840s and there have been baseball games played on Independence Day since the 1860s. Newspaper articles advertised the game as the Brooklyn Union paper back to July 3, 1867, when “The number of base-ball matches advertised for the Fourth of July can be counted by the hundred. Dozens of clubs will make out-of-town visits.” Back then the sport was used as a prideful way to separate the US from Great Britain’s cricket.
(Source: Mental Floss)
4. Dead Presidents
The 2nd, 3rd, and 5th American Presidents passed away on the 4th of July. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, 50 years after the birth of the nation, while James Monroe stayed around to see the 55th birthday.
5. Beer
It’s unquantifiable to tell how many Americans celebrate Independence Day with a cold one, as recently as ‘22, Americans spent over $3.7 billion for the 4th of July. That’s a lot of pints. Considering the Founding Fathers were pretty much hammered when they drafted the document, it’s tradition.
(Source: Reframe)
6. Should it be a 3-day holiday?
While the Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed and adopted until July 4, 1776, the Founding Fathers got most of the drafting done on July 2. In a letter written to his wife, John Adams wrote, "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” It sounds like the Founding Fathers were hoping for an annual bender. I don’t know if we’re doing it right, sounds like something we should look more into.
(Source: Parade)
Union Square Park, New York, NY
Union Square Park was originally farmland owned by a fella named Elias Brevoort. There seem to be a bunch of Elias Brevoorts throughout the history of NYC, but this one owned about 40 acres of the area. He sold 22 acres of his farm to John Smith - no not the one from Pocahontas - in 1762. Once this John Smith passed away, the farm was then passed in 1788 to Henery Spingler, who was a butcher and shoe-keeper of New York. This is the Springler guy who the building on Union Square West between 14th & 15th Streets is named after. He also used to own a Spingler House which was the hotel you see below.
(Source: Stephen Jenkins’ The Greatest Street in the World)
In between the time the Brevoort owned the land and New York City declared it a public space, Union Square Park also served as a mass burial ground for poor New Yorkers. That said they likely don’t have any more bodies beneath it on a count of all the subway lines today. Before it was even called Union Square Park, it was named Union Place in 1807 because it was located at the “union” of Bloomingdale (Broadway today) and Bowery Road (4th Ave today). Due to the way that the roads were angled when they were built, the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 decided to form a square at the union. Somebody must’ve screwed up the perfectly grided roads, imagine being that guy at the water cooler who messed up New York City’s grid. Sheesh.
In 1831, a guy named Samuel Ruggles didn’t like the name Union Place so he suggested that the City be named Union Square, and the common ground became enlarged as it extended up to 17th Street. Ruggles got his way, as it was renamed Union Square and he was able to build sidewalks with curbs. He had that kind of dough because he was one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce. As the city’s population started to move upward, the area around Union Square became an exclusive suburb for the city’s wealthiest citizens. I guess they didn’t care it was a potter field. The park officially opened in 1839 and they even added a fountain in 1842.
(Source: NYC Gov Parks)
A committee of concerned citizens was interested in erecting a monument for the father of the country, so in 1856, Henry Kirke Brown sculpted the statue of George Washington. Although it might be around the 4th of July, I think George Washington might already have way too many things to write about him for today’s Notes. Brown studied a bit in Italy before working on the bronze. The sculpture is supposed to depict Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783, when Washington reclaimed the City from the British. His outstretched hand symbolizes a gesture of victory. It was unveiled on July 4th, 1856. It is the oldest statue in the City’s Parks collection. Union Square Park today has statues of Independence (Charles F. Murphy Memorial), Flagstaff (1926, sculpted by Anthony de Francisci), Marquis de Lafayette (1873, by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi), James Fountain (1881, by Karl Adolph Donndorf), and Mohandas Gandhi (1986, by Kantilal B. Patel). Henry Kinke Brown also created the Abraham Lincoln statue that is also in Union Square Park.
Speaking of President Lincoln, Union Square took on its name because it hosted several Union rallies. Several pro-Union rallies were celebrated at Union Square after Union victories in the Civil War. New Yorkers would also meet at Union Square after some losses in the Civil War as well, namely one rally that took place on April 20, 1861, the week after the Confederate troops captured Fort Sumter. According to the New York Times, “On the morning of April 20, over 100,000 men, including millionaire merchants, brokers, tradesmen, mechanics, artisans, and laborers, poured into Union Square. Native New Yorkers, Irishmen, Germans, and eastern Europeans made up the bulk of the crowd, as African Americans were unwelcome at such public events. Women and children, who were relegated to the windows, balconies, and rooftops above, waved flags and cheered.” This would be known as the Great Sumter Rally and it was one of the largest public meetings Americans at the time had ever witnessed. The Great Sumter Rally led to the creation of the Union Defense Committee (UDC). Led by New York City businessmen, the UDC funded regimental units to defend Washington, D.C. They even placed an American flag on George Washington’s outstretched hand - pretty badass.
After the Civil War, Union Square became less of a neighborhood suburban spot for the wealthy and more commercial. The likes of Tiffany & Co. built their then headquarters right by Union Square in 1870. Not only were jewelry shops interested in moving to the area, but the Rialto Theatre was also built. Rialto Theatre would become New York City’s first commercial theater district. They named it after some spot in Venice and served its purpose as the city’s main theater from the 1860s to 1908 when it became a movie theatre which stuck around until 1998.
On September 5th, 1882, Union Square Park also hosted a parade that would lead to the origins of Labor Day. At least 10,000 marched from City Hall up to Union Square to protest for workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution. Robert Price of Lonaconing, Maryland said to Richard Griffiths, the General Worthy Foreman of the Knights of Labor, "This is Labor Day in earnest, Uncle Dick." On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the legislation which made Labor Day a national holiday.
(Source: NYC GOV)
