CCHA Summer Intern Pharren Cifuentes shares her thoughts on the “Spirit of America”
Four days after the celebration of this nation's 250th anniversary of its emancipation from British rule, the Anne Arundel County community commemorated the 250th anniversary of when the contents of the Declaration of Independence, that sacred document, were read out loud and heard from the public for the first time.
In Anne Arundel County this day was celebrated in both an organized manner and
spontaneously. The number of participants in this event ranged from 1 person – 40+ people in
each location. For some, it was a more intimate event and for others more public. Each location
chose a different number of readers; in some locations 1 person read the document and in others
everyone that showed up to the event read a piece of the document. Those that hosted the event
expressed the Spirit of America in their own unique ways like Historic Annapolis, who went out
to the bay on board the Catherine Marie, and like the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States
Lighthouse Society who gathered on the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, both representative of
the Annapolis maritime heritage.
Because of the spontaneous nature of the event, participants from the Chesapeake
Children's Museum, St. John's College, and Annapolis City Hall drew the attention of people
passing by, many of whom couldn't help but stop and turn their heads out of curiosity. Partners
remarked on the diversity of emotions in this momentous act like passion and excitement, but,
most importantly, the occasion made people act both psychologically and physically. That day,
rather than nostalgia, people were feeling retrospection. Where nostalgia says “I wish I could go
back to that time”, retrospection says “Something from the past is making sense again”. As
Alderwoman Karma O'Neill observed, the event prompted people to reflect on the effort early
Americans made to stay informed, gathering together at the town square to share news and
information. That act of coming together highlights the second reason why this day is so
important: mobilization. Did you realize you were a part of a movement? Just how people
mobilized, congregated and listened to the contents of this document for the first time back then,
so did the participants in the present, because for many who participated it was either their first
time reading the document or it was their first time in a long time. Participants had to physically
move to get to a location, whether it be far and near by, reflects on the political engagement that
is fundamental and necessary for a Democracy. The community’s movement to congregate and
stand with those founding principles of this nation in today's circumstances mirrors that day 250
years ago when people mobilized in front of the steps of the Pennsylvania State House as an act
of political consciousness and protest against the British crown.
This annual practice serves as a renewal of those principles through action. In this act we
share the spirit of that document through cultural exchange, solidarity and fraternity; the
Mexican Restaurant Picante on West Street proudly read the document in English and Spanish
under the stars. And, of course, who could forget the Chase-Lloyd House who brought one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Chase, to read that document to the public
on the front steps of his house. How much more symbolic could this day have gotten with the
participation of Annapolis City Hall?
On the 4th we celebrate America as a nation and those historic individuals who acted to
make their ideals a reality, but on July 8th, we celebrate Americans. This day and this practice
reminds us that Democracy is dependent on informed, engaged and vigilant citizens that act to
fulfill one’s civic duty. Sharing the spirit, is recreating something that happened 250 years ago.
Recreating the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence allows us to share in the
spirit of civic engagement and unity that inspired those who gathered in 1776.