{"id":3339,"date":"2015-06-29T12:43:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T16:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=3339"},"modified":"2015-06-29T12:43:55","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T16:43:55","slug":"a-declaration-of-interdependence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2015\/06\/29\/a-declaration-of-interdependence\/","title":{"rendered":"A Declaration of Interdependence!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a show of unity between allies, the United States celebrated its Independence Day in London on July 4, 1918. While the First World War was still raging, and\u00a0a German surrender months away, Americans united with the British to commemorate the 4th of July together. The celebration in London was a way to further galvanize a strong\u00a0military\u00a0alliance, but also an opportunity to demonstrate to the world a political bond of two superpowers that would be both formidable and enduring.\u00a0The events of the day were described by the publishing magnate and American Civil War veteran, George Haven Putnam, in\u00a0this Library of War Literature pamphlet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On\u00a0the 4th of July, 1918, for the first time in history, America’s Independence Day was officially celebrated in London and throughout England by the English people. This commemoration of the national holiday of the United States was, in more ways than one, noteworthy and could but stir the blood of every loyal American who realized the meaning of the kinship between the two countries. London was ablaze with flags, the Stars and Stripes intertwined with the Union Jack, and in many places with the tricolour. Meetings were held in a number of the clubs and other centres throughout the town, the most important for the general public being that in the great Central Hall at Westminster. Thousands of American soldiers were in England, most of whom were spending their first Independence Day away from their native soil. The vessels of the American Navy were operating along the British coast in close companionship with the ships of their British Allies. American troops were fighting in France, brigaded with the veterans of Great Britain. In London, and throughout England, clubs, rest-houses, and canteens had been organized for the benefit of the guests from overseas. A spirit of brotherhood was in the air. In London there was a series of luncheons and dinners, and the Londoner who could not secure one or more Yankees on whom to bestow his hospitality felt defrauded.<\/em><\/div>\n

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Interestingly, the day was highlighted\u00a0by a baseball game! King George\u00a0with Queen Mary and other royalty, including Winston Churchill, watched and\u00a0cheered for a cerermonial\u00a0“baseball match” between American soldiers and sailors. As described:<\/div>\n
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Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the commemoration <\/em>
\nwas the game of baseball fought out, and very well <\/em>
\nfought out, between men selected from the divisions of the American<\/em>
\nArmy and from the sailors of the American Navy who were <\/em><\/div>\n
at the time within reach of London. King George honoured the <\/em>
\nboys with his presence, and the King’s example was, naturally, <\/em>
\nfollowed by hundreds of representatives of the “best society” <\/em>
\nand by forty thousand other good Englishmen who were ready <\/em>
\nto admire, and who did their best to understand, the fine points <\/em>
\nin the excellent playing of the Yankee experts…<\/em><\/div>\n
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Winston Churchill, who was present at the the game, played a prominent role in the events of the day, giving a stirring speech.<\/div>\n
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…We therefore feel no sense of division in celebrating this anniversary. We join in perfect sincerity and in perfect simplicity with our American kith and kin in commemorating the auspicious and glorious establishment of their nationhood. We also, we British who have been so long in the struggle, also express our joy and gratitude for the mighty and timely aid which America has brought and is bringing to the Allied Cause…The line is clearly drawn between the nations where the peoples own the governments and the nations where the governments own the peoples. Our struggle is between systems which faithfully endeavor to quell and quench the brutish, treacherous, predatory promptings of human nature, and a system which has deliberately fostered, organized, armed, and exploited these promptings to its own base aggrandizement. We are all erring mortals. No race, no country, no individual, has a monopoly of good or of evil, but face to face with the facts of this war, who can doubt that the struggle in which we are engaged is in reality a struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil? <\/em><\/div>\n

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Actual\u00a0footage of King George’s arrival at the baseball game, along with some\u00a0game action, has been preserved.\u00a0Originally recorded on a newsreel by\u00a0British Path\u00e9.<\/p>\n

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Original newsreel footage of King George’s arrival at the baseball game<\/p><\/div>\n

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Description:<\/dt>\n
A declaration of interdependence :commemoration in London in 1918 of the 4th of July, 1776 : resolutions and addresses at the Central Hall, Westminster. New York : Library of War Literature, [1918].<\/span><\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:2093509<\/a><\/dd>\n
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Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

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In a show of unity between allies, the United States celebrated its Independence Day in London on July 4, 1918. While the First World War was still raging, and\u00a0a German surrender months away, Americans united with the British to commemorate the 4th of July together. The celebration in London was a way to further galvanize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3339"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3376,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3339\/revisions\/3376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}