Turtledove
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Fourth of July

The Fourth of July (July 4th), also known as Independence Day, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Literary comment[]

Numerous Harry Turtledove stories have scenes where characters celebrate the 4th of July. It is germane only to a few works.

Fourth of July in Supervolcano[]

About a year after the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano and the effects it had on the weather, it caused a new Year Without a Summer. On the Fourth of July in Guilford, Maine, it was a grey day with snow drifting down from the sky although temperatures had reached the sixties once or twice in June.[1]

Fourth of July in The Valley-Westside War[]

More than a century after the atomic war of 1967, people of The Valley - one of countless tiny nation-states arising from the former United States - still celebrated the Fourth of July with fireworks.[2] Liz Mendoza noticed that Dan of the Valley referred to himself as an American, rather than a Valley man, when he talked of heated topics such as the Fourth of July or the Russians.[3]

References[]

  1. All Fall Down, pgs. 20-22, HC.
  2. The Valley-Westside War, p. 122.
  3. Ibid, pg. 129.
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