Written in 1986, the piece was commissioned to celebrate the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty on July 4, that year.
[1] However, it was actually premiered a month beforehand, on June 4, when Williams conducted the Boston Pops.
It uses both the brass section for the main themes and the strings for providing a recurring, melodious motif.
Before the premiere of the piece, Williams commented that he had "tried to create a group of American airs and tunes of my own invention that I hope will give some sense of the event and the occasion".
[2] The composition received generally positive reviews at the time[citation needed] and is still regularly performed as a patriotic piece.