Only in America
This movie helped popularize the idea of alien invasions being stopped on July 4th.
Independence Day (1996)
Written as a response to “God Bless America,” this Americana-folk hit offers a more critical view of inequality.
"This Land is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie)
This 1944 case upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, later widely criticized and effectively repudiated in modern legal interpretation.
Korematsu v. The United States
This is what Americans check before deciding if they can afford coffee… again.
Inflation
A patriotic year-round dessert is famous for being "as American as…"?
Apple Pie
Often mistaken for a patriotic anthem, this hit song is actually a critique of post-Vietnam America.
Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen)
This traditional march became a symbol of American pride despite originally mocking colonial soldiers.
These two Washington Post journalists investigated the Watergate break-in and helped expose the broader abuse of power within the Nixon administration.
Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's effort to end _________ ________, also known as the 14th Amendment
Birthright Citizenship
These two presidents died on the very same day, July 4, 1826
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
“America’s pastime" superstar, ____ ________, was the last player to bat over .400 in a single season meaning he got a hit 40% of the time in 1941.
Ted Williams
Originally published as a poem in The Congregationalist magazine in 1895, but became especially popular during World War II as an unofficial patriotic anthem.
"America The Beautiful"
The 1990s political scandal centered on an affair shouldn't concern you because “The American people don’t care about that kind of stuff.
Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky Scandal
The population is at a record-high! An estimated _____ live in the United States.
341.8 million people
July 4th was not deemed a federal holiday until ______, nearly 100 years after the nation was founded
1870
Loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, this cult film trademarked the iconic quote about “lov[ing] the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Apocalypse Now (1979)
This pop icon’s 1993 Super Bowl halftime show drew roughly 133.4 million viewers and set the modern standard for halftime performances.
Michael Jackson
This Continental Army general defected to the British after being discovered plotting to surrender West Point.
Benedict Arnold
This legal battle over federal student loan forgiveness involved the question of whether executive action can effectively bypass Congress’s spending authority.
Biden v. Nebraska
The only state that bans all consumer fireworks won't make an exception even for Independence Day!
Massachusetts
This fast-food chain’s “Dollar Menu” helped define cheap American eating culture in the 2000s.
McDonalds
This African-American singer delivered the national anthem at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama, marking one of the most acclaimed classical performances in modern inaugural history.
Aretha Franklin
The 2019 scandal involving wealthy parents bribing coaches and test officials to get their children into elite U.S. universities.
Varsity Blues scandal
This procedural tool in the Senate allows a minority of senators to delay or block legislation unless 60 votes are reached.
Roughly this many hot dogs are eaten by Americans on Independence Day
Estimated 150 million