How the World Celebrated America’s 200th Birthday

countries around the world participated in the 1976 bicentennial, in a turning point for us soft power. an essay published in new lines magazine.

Spectators watch Operation Sail to celebrate the US bicentennial, in New York Harbor on 4 July 1976. Photo: David Attie/Getty Images.

New essay over at New Lines Magazine, drawn from my current research for book project, tentatively titled Wave That Flag: The United States Bicentennial and the Coming of the Culture Wars. The piece explores how “countries around the world participated in the 1976 bicentennial, in a turning point for US soft power.” Read it here:

Michael J. Kramer, “How the World Celebrated America’s 200th Birthday,” New Lines Magazine, 3 July 2026.