IN former times the Fourth of July celebration was an exciting localevent, whose highlight was a speech reviewing the nation's achievements.Many of the speeches appeared subsequently ("by request,"their publishers were prone to put it) as pamphlets, and these collectivelyform a kind of literary category. They have similarities in style,purpose, and content, and a chronological orientation which lends itselfto reflections of change. While most of them "viewed with pride," somedealt with issues of the day—politics or problems such as slavery, theCivil War, the evils of drink.
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