07/04/2026
The 250th anniversary of the United States of America is a good time to reflect on the “American Experiment”: our highs and lows, successes and failures. It’s a time for celebration, but also a time for examination. Please take this journey with us as we look at the the 4th of July through the lens of the UC Merced archives.
Our first stop is to remember this country was established on occupied land. At UC Merced in particular, we acknowledge all local indigenous peoples, including the Yokuts and Miwuk, who inhabited this land and still inhabit this land. Some digitized indigenous artifacts can be seen here, and the above picture is of an indigenous farmworker from our Ernest Lowe Collection (https://calisphere.org/collections/27647/).
Our next stop is a July 4th, 1849 journal entry by Hosea Dudley, a forty-niner who sailed around Cape Horn to reach California. The entry appears to take place onboard, detailing “this day, of all other days, the greatest in our national history.” Perhaps we don’t celebrate like he did with “a variety of performances” where “The First Mate had a fight with one of the Sailors… in which the mate undertook to gouge one of the Sailor’s eyes out but he did not quite succeed.” (https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/86071/d2s69w/?order=14)
Third stop on our journey is an entry from Henry O. Nightingale’s diary. Nightingale was a Civil War soldier whose diary also includes an eye-witness account of the Lincoln assassination. On July 4th, 1865, the country was celebrating its first Independence Day post-Civil War. Nightingale notes “the 4th celebrated with much éclat. A good procession, arrive[d] home at 4 pm.” A short description, but he was clearly caught up “anticipating the day when my darling becomes my wife.” (https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/kt4b69r9x7/?order=194)
Lastly, we arrive at a July 4th, 1942 issue of the El Joaquin, a publication of the Stockton Assembly Center. Assembly centers were temporary concentration camps in World War II for Americans of Japanese ancestry before they were sent to more permanent camps such as Manzanar. Those imprisoned in these assembly centers often produced newspapers, under heavy supervision and censorship. Strikingly, this 4th of July edition is dedicated to “the continuance of American democracy and the furtherance of its principle.” (https://calisphere.org/item/35fd7607-70a8-433e-a30a-54b17b22ba60/)
Although the American journey continues, this is a good place to stop our tour. Have a good and safe 4th of July, and may American democracy and its principles continue and flourish for all in the United States.
1st Image: Birthday Cake from "San Joaquin County California 1929 Exhibit #2 - Subject:- The Birthday Cake", 1929, found in University of California Agricultural Cooperative Extension, San Joaquin County, Collection: https://calisphere.org/collections/23389/
6th Image: “Democracy Forever Float” [Paso Robles parade "Democracy Forever" float]from the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, UC Cooperative Extension Records: https://calisphere.org/collections/27428/
