An Account Of The Centennial Celebration Of The 4th Of July 1876 PDF Download

Excerpt from Centennial Celebration: 4th July, 1876 at Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tenn To-day is the Nation's Centennial Anniversary, and impelled by a patriotic desire to celebrate it, coupled with a request from the Congress of the United States to the people of this nation, we have assembled ourselves to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies, and to listen to an address descriptive of the local history and resources of our country. One hundred years ago to-day, our fathers signed the declaration which announced to the world that we were a free people, and as such would take our place, amongst the nations of the earth. Then continued the strife of battle (already begun) to establish our right to freedom, and after many years of sacrifices, and painful vicissitudes, victory came, and our nationality was fully recognized by all nations. The century which has just passed into history, has witnessed a progress in the growth of this nation - in material wealth and in those arts and appliances which indicate a real advance towards a higher civilization that has no parallel in the history of any people. Our seventy-five thousand miles of completed railways, the extension of our telegraph lines, and the almost daily inventions in the mechanic arts, which give to man a respite, if not an absolute release from muscular exertion - its teeming population, its free schools, its peaceful and beautiful homes, are but part of the evidences of our mighty progress. At this moment, in the city of Philadelphia, there are hundreds of thousands of people from many lands, witnessing with pleasure and amazement the progress we have made. There on the grounds of the great Exposition thousands of our own citizens, are now inspecting the myriads of evidences, we have exposed to the world, for its criticism, and they will go to their homes all over this broad land, exultant over these evidences of thrift and progress their country has made during its short life as a nation. We are to-day, a free people prosperous beyond any other nation, and surrounded by every element that should make us contented and happy. At the close of our first Centennial no marshaled hosts invade our borders, no internecine strife lays waste our fields now golden with a glorious harvest, nor sheds the blood of those bound to each other by the ties of kindred or nationality. But peace reigns through-out this land, and a new brotherhood must and will prevail. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."