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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

The "The Day Will Be Most Memorable In The History Of America" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the origins of fireworks and how they became the symbol of celebration for the 4th of July in the United States of America.  It was on July 3, 1776, the day before the continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, that John Adams wrote a letter to his wife telling her that the day will be the most memorable day in the history of America.  
He anticipated that it would be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival and will be solemnized with pomp and parade...bonfires and illuminations...from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore.  Wow!  Didn't take long before he had the chance to say, "Told you so!", since the following year saw many more fireworks, or illuminations as he stated, displays commemorating our new country's 1st anniversary, just as they have each one since.  But, it wasn't more than 100 years later that rampant detonation of fireworks drove concerned citizens to form the Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise, which lobbied for restrictions on fireworks.  For many years the state of Pennsylvania, in which I reside, had stringent regulations on what type and how powerful public fireworks could me, but to the chagrin of many, that has changed this year.  It led to quite a few commercials on television warning of the consequences of allowing children to use fireworks unsupervised.  Only time will tell if removing regulations on fireworks was a good idea or not.  Certainly was a bonus for those selling and manufacturing fireworks in the state as well as neighboring states.  
Earliest "fireworks" in China.
Many historians believe that today's fireworks originated in China, which continues to produce and export more fireworks than any other country in the world.  It was in 200 B.C. that the Chinese discovered a natural firecracker due to roasting bamboo which would explode when heated due to its hollow air pockets.  They used these explosions to ward off evil spirits.  About 400 years later they added saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur and other ingredients which yielded an early form of gunpowder.  They would stuff the substance into bamboo shoots that would then be thrown into a fire to produce a loud blast; thus fireworks were said to have been born.  
The celebration of the laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable
at New York.  This is the illumination of City Hall with fireworks.
Wasn't long before they replaced the bamboo stalks with paper tubes and found they had made crude bombs which they attached to arrows that rained down on their adversaries during military engagements.  200 more years later they learned how to fire explosives into the air and guide them toward enemy targets.  These became known as the first rockets which fireworks masters used to put on aerial displays.  In the 13th century some of this early technology entered Europe and Arabia.  They worked on making the substances more potent and eventually developed the cannon and muskets.  Weaker devices were used to celebrate military victories and religious ceremonies.  In medieval England fireworks experts were known as firemasters who had assistants known as "green men" since they wore leaves on their heads to protect them from the sparks of the fireworks.  
Happy 4th of July!
By the time of the Renais- sance, pyrotechnic schools were training fireworks artists across Europe.  In the 1830s the Italians were adding metals to the fireworks to create the bright, multi-hued sparks and sunbursts that we love today.  The earliest fireworks display was in England in 1486 when Henry VIII had a big display when he was married.  The first fireworks were allegedly set off in the United States in 1608 in Jamestown.  Then, for the first time, in 1731 the use of fireworks was banned in Rhode Island.  That led to John Adams' prediction that the United States will use fireworks every July 4th to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  And, he was right!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

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