Oh, Philadelphia freedom, shine on me, I love ya… Philadelphia freedom, don’t you know that I love you? Elton John/Bernie Taupin, “Philadelphia Freedom” Just in time for the semiquincentennial (or the sestercentennial, if you prefer) of the United States, Marc Stein has delivered a well-researched, thoughtful exploration of the 1976 bicentennial celebrations. Joining a growing historical literature on that event fifty years ago, Stein, the current president of the Organization of American Historians, argues that we should see the bicentennial as more than a nostalgic, over-commercialized affair.[1] It was not just simply a series of Betsy Ross flags or red, Read more