THE bicentennial was in 1976, as in, 200 years after 1776. But you could celebrate the bicentennial of anything really, so who knows?
The Revolutionary War actually began in 1775, but the Continental Congress, such as it was, didn't vote on the Declaration of Independence until early July, 1776. Thomas Jefferson wrote it, John Adams lobbied for the whole thing, John Hancock presided over the debates, and Ben Franklin was probably the most respected spokesman. Watch the musical "1776" for a fun take on the whole thing.
The Revolutionary War was finally considered won after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, but the Treaty of Paris with England was not signed until 1783.
The colonies essentially governed themselves independently under the Articles of Confederation in a state of relative chaos until 1787 when delegates met to write a Constitution. George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, and James Madison did most of the real work, thus being labelled the Father of the Constitution. It passed the convention and was ratifed by the states in the months thereafter, with George Washington being elected our 1st president in 1789, and the Supreme Court meeting for the first time in 1790.
Therefore, 1976 is the bicentennial of our independence. 1981 was the bicentennial of the last major Reveolutionary War battle. 1983 was the annniversary of the treaty that fully made us independent of England. 1987 was the bicentennial of the Constitution. 1989 is the bicentennial of the presidency. 1990 is the bicentennial of our court system. 2011 is the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth, and is the 20th anniversary of my law degree, the 12th anniversary of my son's birth, and 5th anniversary of my daughter's birth.
Thus ends our history lesson. The test will be on Friday.
