We are beginning the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It may be interesting to recall how New York celebrated in the past, including the Bicentennial (reviewed in a previous post) and the Sesquicentennial a century ago.
The Sesquicentennial got off to a slow start. At the urging of historical groups, the governor and legislature began taking action in 1923 with a small appropriation for the New York State Historical Association to recommend what should be done.
The Association issued its report in 1924 and the legislature responded by passing a law to establish a Sesquicentennial Commission. Governor Alfred E. Smith vetoed that on the grounds that the Regents and the Education Department should carry out the work.
The Department advanced a report and recommendations in 1925 for a broad program including school activities, pageants, and upgrades or purchase of battlefields. But political disputes over the state budget delayed action until 1926.
A 1926 law (Laws of 1926, Ch. 786) authorized the Commissioner of Education to carry out activities “to promote the patriotic education of our citizens” through “suitable ceremonies and other commemorative exercises” including school activities and historical markers. $75,000 was appropriated in support of these activities. Other laws authorized the upgrading of state historic battlefield sites and the purchase of additional ones.
It was late in the game – by 1926, the sesquicentennial of the Declaration of Independence was at hand. Funding was short – the Regents asked for $250,000 for 1927 activities; the legislature appropriated $150,000.
But State Historian Alexander C. Flick (1869-1942), director of the Division of Archives and History in the Education Department (forerunner of the Office of State History), had already initiated some activities. Serving as State Historian from from 1923 to 1939, he took the lead and a good deal was accomplished.
As Regent William Leland Thompson put it in a 1934 article that reviewed the sesquicentennial, “too frequently… these observations evaporate in noise and show without leaving results that are either permanent or uplifting.” The Regents wanted something more this time.
They determined to keep the Sesquicentennial commemoration “on a high educational level of constructive patriotism.” They aimed for “instructive, realistic pageants, solid historical addresses, permanent markers, and worthy publications [that] would profit old and young alike.”
Several initiatives were carried out.
*A history of the Revolution in New York
The Division of Archives and History issued a book on The American Revolution in New York: Its Political, Social and Economic Significance in 1926.
One of its goals was to assert New York’s importance in the Revolution to counter the exaggerated claims of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia about their roles in the American Revolution (“New York’s role in the Revolution has been ignored, misrepresented and misunderstood,” Flick, who wrote most of the book, explained in the introduction.)
The book included broad coverage of the war. It was meant for the general public but particularly for schools. The Regents printed and distributed 50,000 copies of the book, mostly to schools.
Its final section, suggestions for local activities, might be of the most interest to us today. The book suggested literary and musical exercises (“a bass band seems appropriate to such occasions”), lectures, parades, pageants, history balls and parties (“Of course, they should include everybody, young and old, and so far as possible, actual ancestral garments and articles of adornment should be worn” it cautioned.)
The book also recommended more durable actions, including, preservation of historical buildings and the erection of markers and monuments.
*Teaching about the Revolution in schools
Teachers drew on The Revolution in New York book to enrich and expand what they taught students about the revolution. Schools held essay contests, pageants, and patriotic displays tied to independence.
*Roadside historical markers
The 1926 law authorized roadside historical markers “to designate sites that are of historic significance in the colonial, revolutionary or state formative period.” Governments, organizations and individuals wanting to designate sites had to file supporting applications to the Division of Archives and History.
If the applications were approved, that office made signs available for a small cost. Over 2,800 markers were erected between 1926 and 1939, when the program’s funding ran out. ended. Many are still in place today. (The historical marker program has been revived by the Pomeroy Foundation.)
There was a related program to erect special markers along the route of the 1779 Sullivan-Clinton campaign against hostile Native Americans; and one to mark the route of Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery.”
*Major commemorations
The state organized a large celebration at Kingston on September 10, 1927 to commemorate the founding of state government. State Historian Flick gave an oration on the first state constitution, the establishment of the government, and the initial acts of Governor George Clinton, the legislature and the courts.
Governor Alfred E. Smith spoke on the development of the executive branch of government. A “historical drama” reenacting the development of the first constitution and the public’s reaction to it was held at a city park.
There was also a grand public ceremony and pageant at the Saratoga Battlefield on October 8, 1927. The battlefield had been upgraded by the Conservation Department (forerunner of DEC) and there was a ceremony designating it as “Public Battlefield Park.” (In 1938 it was transferred to the federal government, which still administers it.)
After patriotic speeches, State Historian Flick delivered an the significance of the battles and Burgoyne’s surrender.
There was a long pageant with the title “Why America is Free” where people playing Philip Schuyler, Horatio Gates, John Burgoyne and others enacted the events leading up to the battle and the surrender itself.
In the speeches and pageant, Albany’s Philip Schuyler got lots of attention for thwarting Burgoyne’s advance before being replaced by Horatio Gates (who was from Virginia), who finally defeated Burgoyne.
*Other commemorative activities
Governor Smith asked every community to initiate commemorative activities to mark “Independence Week” (July 3-9) so that citizens might better “understand the genesis of our independence and the struggle to gain it.”
During those days, and the rest of 1926, numerous events were held in communities around the state, some sponsored by the state, some locally sponsored, and some a combination of the two. Many had schoolchildren in attendance.
These included:
A July 9, 1926 at White Plains to reenact the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the New York Provincial Congress 150 years earlier;
A commemoration of the proclamation by General Washington ordering that the Declaration be read to the troops, in New York City on July 9;
A commemoration of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on August 21, 1926, which coincided with the State Historical Association (founded in 1899) moving to its first permanent headquarters in Ticonderoga (it moved again, in 1944, to Cooperstown, but is now defunct);
A historic pageant and issuance of a postage stamp on October 28, 1926, on October 28, 1926 to mark the sesquicentennial of the Battle of White Plains; and
Smaller observances at Crown Point, Fort Ann, Cherry Valley, Cobleskill, Oswego, Fort Edward, Oriskany, and elsewhere.
Some insights for today
There are at least four insights that may guide us today.
1. Most of the action was local. Many communities took the initiative and organized their own activities, in line with what The Revolution in New York recommended but each one adding its own take on the revolution and what should be remembered about it.
2.Bring NEW YORK’S story to the forefront. There was plenty of American patriotism in the New York sesquicentennial activities. But most notable was how they focused on what happened in New York State, demonstrating New York’s central role and importance.
3. Leave a lasting legacy. The sesquicentennial’s emphasis on education, publications and historical markers was intended to ensure that there would be continuing reminders after the celebrations were over.
4. What citizens can learn from commemorating the Revolution. The Kingston “souvenir program” concluded with a recommendation for what people should take away from the commemoration.
“What lessons should this Sesquicentennial teach us?,” it asked. “It should incite us to a more intelligent interest in our local and national history. It should inspire us with the fine courage and lofty faith of the fathers to solve our problems. It should awaken in us the desire to labor wisely for the common good . It should cultivate in us a sane and constructive patriotism which seeks to make our community, our State and our country the best possible places in which to live and to rear our children.”
Learn more about the American Revolution in New York State and follow the latest news about the 250th Anniversary.
Illustrations, from above: “A Map of the History of New York State by Alexander C. Flick and Paul M. Paine,” 1928; State Historian Alexander C. Flick at Carnegie Hall on February 22, 1932; the title page from The American Revolution in New York (1926); Albany to Schoharie “Old Plank Road” historical sign, 1932 (NYS Education Department); Commemoration program for the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga and Surrender of Burgoyne on the Battlefield October 8th, 1927; and the Hancock House, former home of the New York State Historical Association in Ticonderoga.
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