The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Fathers in the Second Continental Congress.

Historian Jonathan Crider points out that in the 1850s, editors and orators both North and South claimed their region was the true custodian of the legacy of 1776, as they used the Revolution symbolically in their rhetoric.

[7][8][9][10] David Ryan, a professor at University College Cork, notes that the Bicentennial was celebrated only a year after the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and that the Ford administration stressed the themes of renewal and rebirth based on a restoration of traditional values, giving a nostalgic and exclusive reading of the American past.

The logo became a flag that flew at many government facilities throughout the United States and appeared on many other souvenirs and postage stamps issued by the Postal Service.

NASA painted the logo on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in 1976 where it remained until 1998 when the agency replaced it with its own emblem as part of 40th anniversary celebrations.

[17] The official Bicentennial events began April 1, 1975, when the American Freedom Train launched in Wilmington, Delaware to start its 21-month, 25,388-mile (40,858 km) tour of the 48 contiguous states.

[18] On April 18, 1975, President Gerald Ford traveled to Boston to light a third lantern at the historic Old North Church, symbolizing America's third century.

[20] According to the New York Times "more than 2,000 spectators were on hand" as canons were fired and a Paul Revere reenactor rode through announcing the arrival of British Troops.

[21] On December 31, 1975, the eve of the Bicentennial Year, Ford recorded a statement to address the American people by means of radio and television broadcasts.

[22] Presidential Proclamation 4411 was signed as an affirmation to the Founding Fathers of the United States principles of dignity, equality, government by representation, and liberty.

In addition to the presence of the 'tall ships', navies of many nations sent warships to New York harbor for an International Naval Review held the morning of July 4.

Their visit aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia included stops in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

NASA commemorated the Bicentennial by staging a science and technology exhibit housed in a series of geodesic domes in the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) called Third Century America.

On the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, NASA held the rollout ceremony of the first Space Shuttle (which NASA had planned to name Constitution but was, instead, named "Enterprise" in honor of its fictional namesake on the television series Star Trek[28]).On November 20 and 21 of 1976, participants immersed themselves in the era by donning period-accurate uniforms and equipping themselves with the tools and weaponry characteristic of that Christmas night over two centuries prior.

A wave of patriotism and nostalgia swept the nation and there was a general feeling that the irate era of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate constitutional crisis of 1974 had finally come to an end.

In the summer of 1976, the city of South Bend, Indiana, embarked on a unique project to commemorate the United States Bicentennial: painting its fire hydrants in vibrant colors and patriotic designs.

The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage began a journey from Blaine, Washington on June 8, 1975, concluding at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1976.

She was featured on The Today Show and Good Morning America, and received commemorations from President Ford, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne, and a host of other notables.

Many commercial products, including sports, apparel and collectibles, appeared in red, white, and blue packages in an attempt to tie them to the Bicentennial.

[53][54] The 1976 film Rocky cited the Bicentennial in several scenes, mostly during Apollo Creed's entering; Carl Weathers dressed first as George Washington and then as Uncle Sam.

The document was displayed in a case designed by artist Louis Osman consisting of gold, stainless steel, rubies, pearls, sapphires, diamonds, and white enamel.

Many of the 149 works in the exhibit had never been seen outside France and included Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, Jupiter and Thetis by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and a portrait of Maximilien Robespierre by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard.