91福利社

As Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, James Naughtie looks at how Americans celebrate 4th July, and how its meaning has changed over time.

John Adams, America's second president, once wrote that Independence Day would be celebrated with "Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and illuminates from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more." In the years since, Americans have done their best to do just that.

But the Declaration was animated by a set of ideas as much as by a wish for a new nation to strike out on its own. And in the centuries since, those ideas have been interpreted and re-interpreted, contested and sometimes fought over - underlying many of the debates in American public life. So as James explores the long history of how Americans have celebrated 4th July, and indeed joins some of their celebrations, he also delves into those deeper currents.

Producer: Giles Edwards.