Red, White, and Blue Letter Days

by Matthew Dennis

Book Overview

The Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, and other celebrations matter to Americans and reflect the state of American local and national politics. Commemorations of cataclysmic events and light, apparently trivial observances mirror American political and cultural life. Both reveal much about the material conditions of the United States and its citizens' identities,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801436478
• ISBN13: 9780801436475
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

America through our holidays

There are many American histories out there, but in this one, the author Dennis traces our history through our holidays. Looking at our national holidays chronologically as they were adopted, he shows how these holidays developed and changed over time, as they were called into play for various civic and political reasons. A good example of this is Columbus Day, where he traces the legacy of Christopher Columbus as an icon and a demon for different groups including Catholics, immigrants and later the American Indian movement. All the while the invocation of Columbus' name could be seen in such events as the founding of the Knights of Columbus and other Columbian groups. Other holidays produce similar tracing of our national history, such as a brief look at the labor movement for Labor Day, the politics of reconciliation after the Civil War with Memorial Day and the politics of iconography with President's Day celebrating Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays. The writing at times can get dry, but the reader gains new insights into our history and will not view a day off quite the same again.

Historical Examination from All Perspectives

Matthew Dennis looks at the American Calendar in Red, White, and Blue Letter Days. This book examines the distinctively American holidays of Indepndence Day, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The author traces the origins and development of these holidays in an interesting, informative and thorough manner. The delight in this book, though, is the inclusive nature of its treatments. The examination of the Indian reaction to these holidays is wonderfully illuminating. In fact, the most important aspect of this book is the ways in which it demonstrates how all shades of the political spectrum and all peoples within the United States have used and developed these holidays. Eventually all of these holidays become drained of meaning but this road to complacency, as shown in this book, is fascinating and varied.