The Material World of the Trenton Bicentennial

This is the first in a series of blogs, created in partnership with Princeton University, entitled Commemoration, Crisis and Revolution in the City. To learn more about the research behind this project, visit https://commons.princeton.edu/commemorating/

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In the Trentoniana room of the Trenton Free Public Library, the archival collection on the Trenton Bicentennial Committee tells a story, amongst others, of the material culture surrounding the Trenton Bicentennial and the contributions of community members and corporations alike to that celebration. Corporations not only provided for the celebration by sponsoring events, but they also benefited commercially through advertisements and selling commemorative trinkets, a phenomenon observed both in Trenton and nation-wide.[1] Locals were also able to collaborate on celebratory projects that used the opportunity of the Bicentennial to invest in Trenton’s public infrastructure. Trenton’s Bicentennial thus became a means for folks to participate in a larger national celebration while pursuing their own goals on the local and commercial level.

Many businesses and corporations threw their hats into the commemoration effort, advertising objects and events meant to aid celebrants in their commemoration. From Quaker Oats offering their commemorative float to the city of Trenton for use in their bicentennial parade to a campaign to build an “authentic” covered wagon (which would have taken upwards of 1,000 hours and $12,000 to construct), the large-scale commemoration efforts of the bicentennial were supported by many companies, which in turn were able to profit from the event.[2]

This corporate sponsorship also occurred on a smaller scale, with local manufacturers rushing to make bicentennial-themed items like commemorative plates and paperweights now found in attics across America.[3] These items, meant to facilitate commemoration on a more individual level, gave everyday people a way to “own” the bicentennial by connecting them to an inaccessible past.[4] The creation and advertisement of these commemorative objects allowed people to easily engage — even if on a more superficial level — with the history represented in them.

Though it isn’t possible to represent the complicated history of the American Revolution in a seat cushion, lunch box, or 7Up bottle, the objects succeeded in making customers feel like they were a part of history.[5] Businesses themselves attempted to facilitate that connection with ads that aligned their goods and services with the Revolution. Companies like the Bell telephone company and Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) ran advertisements that emphasized their history, riding the wave of the Bicentennial’s historical focus and making Trentonian customers feel as though they were participating in history by using their services.[6]

On the community level, there were robust efforts to invest in the public landscape of Trenton. The Trenton Bicentennial Committee’s so-called “Beautification” sub-committee organized an initiative to plant tens of thousands of “beautiful bulbs” to make the city “prettier than a picture” for the celebration. This initiative was advertised to locals in Trenton, who, with “a contribution of $5.00 or more” could have the blooms planted in their name.[7]

Bicentennial projects not only served the purpose of revitalizing the landscape for the event —they also allowed organizations to undertake long-awaited maintenance efforts. However, this discrepancy created rifts in how funding was used, especially concerning existing historical landmarks like the Douglass House — a historic house associated with Alexander Douglass, Quarter Master of the Continental Army — in Trenton.[8] The prioritization of a landmark’s historical significance over its long-term preservation presents an example of how conflicting agendas between community members and outside funding entities posed challenges during Trenton’s Bicentennial planning process.

Overall, the Bicentennial presented an opportunity for both locals and corporations in Trenton to contribute to community development or acquire commercial gains. The commodification of the Bicentennial through corporate advertising let people feel like they were a part of history, while community members used the opportunity to pursue projects that would contribute to the public landscape of Trenton beyond the festivities of July 1976. Both approaches demonstrate how material culture permeated the commemorative affair that was Trenton’s Bicentennial celebration.

Bios:

Lianne Chapin is a sophomore at Princeton University. She just declared her major in the School of Public and International Affairs and is pursuing minors in History and Teacher Preparation.

Grace Wang is a sophomore at Princeton University majoring in Economics.

[1] Tammy S. Gordon, The Spirit of 1976: Commerce, Community, and the Politics of Commemoration (University of Massachusetts Press, 2013), 47–67.

[2] Edward J. Fox to Arthur J. Holland, April 12, 1976, Box 2, Folder 5, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive, Trentoniana Room, Trenton Free Public Library; John D. Frizzell to Mark Brown, “Frizzell Coach & Wheel Works,” January 5, 1974, Box 1, Folder 11, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive; John D. Frizzell to Mark Brown, “Frizzell Coach & Wheel Works Follow Up,” April 5, 1974, Box 1, Folder 11, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive.

[3] “Champale Celebrates the Bicentennial with this NC Wyeth Commemorative Plate” in “The Festival of the Ten Crucial Days” New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Call no. 128. Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive. Trentoniana Room, Trenton Free Public Library.

[4] Wendy A. Woloson, Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2020), 228.

[5] “Ford Museum - Artifact Collections - Bicentennial Artifacts” accessed March 29, 2024, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/artifactcollectionsamples/Catagories/Bicentennial/PopBottle.html.

[6] New Jersey Bell, “Which Was Your First Phone?” in “The Festival of the Ten Crucial Days” New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Call no. 128, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive, Trentoniana Room, Trenton Free Public Library; “200 Years of Energy Leadership” in “The Festival of the Ten Crucial Days” New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Call no. 128, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive, Trentoniana Room, Trenton Free Public Library.

[7] “Keep a Good Thing Growing Donation Form” (Trenton Bicentennial Civic Improvement Subcommittee, March 26, 1976), Box 2, Folder 2, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive.

[8] James M. Sears to Mark Brown, “Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission to Trenton Bicentennial Committee about Douglass House Restoration,” January 14, 1975, Box 1, Folder 11, Trenton Bicentennial Committee Archive.