I Was a Bicentennial Baby
Behind the moniker, in 1976, was a kind of hope. As I turn 50 and the nation reaches 250, the mood feels distinctly different.
On July 4, 1976, in Montclair, New Jersey, Karen Steele became the first "bicentennial baby," marking the United States' 200th birthday. In the wake of this celebration, babies born in 1976 were treated as if they had emerged playing the fife and drums, with newspaper articles, gifts from President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, and commemorative blankets in Mobile, Alabama. Hospitals even handed out special "bicentennial baby" certificates for $2.50, a testament to the year's patriotic fever.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
