How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 (Gift Article)

As someone who, myself, is schlock of '76, I will read this story with great interest www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Jesse Lemisch’s greatest achievement (complimentary) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This story is fun. I remember the era well. Though I was a left-leaning history undergrad, I don't recall disapproving of the pop-culture hype; I enjoyed the historical focus. It was way more pervasive than today's MAGA-infused limpness. You can read it for free. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

growing up in the early 90s, the thrift stores were full of 1976 stuff: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

My maternal grandfather had a whole lot of the commemorative Bicentennial stuff, but I think he probably would have appreciated most of the Bicentennial schlock as well, even if he didn't save it.

i have a 1976 Bicentennial calendar plate hanging on the wall in my home office and a Spirit of 76 transistor radio cheesy commemorative items were (and are) as true an expression of What America Means as the loftier statements we like to say we believe in

this is the type of shit i’m on as an american history guy www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

“The websites … offer tasteful hats, mugs, playing cards and pickleball paddles. But so far, unapologetic 1976-style schlock appears thin on the ground”. Wait, the NYTimes has determined that commemorative pickleball paddles are not schlock? Jessie Lemisch would dissent.

Jesse Lemisch! How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I turned six that summer and my earliest memories are littered with Bicentennial hype

Well, well, well. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I was really hoping for more of this for 250....

Why do I remember 1976 kitsch? Because an astounding amount of crap was dumped on our shores in 1977, and, as my mother only shopped in bargain outlets, I remember 76 US crap more than I remember our 88 crap. How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This is the 'schlock syllabus' by Lemisch mentioned in the the NYT article (see reply): www.nytimes.com/interactive/... #History #HigherEd

"Today, it can be hard to grasp the scale of the swag. By the time the confetti stopped falling, according to one estimate, more than 25,000 items had been produced, from a limited-edition replica of George Washington’s sword to independence-themed toilet paper." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

🗽🗽🗽

I love this article (gift link). I was born in 1976, so I obviously don't remember it, but a lot of these items are familiar to me -- Bicentennial schlock had staying power. It gives me the same sense of nostalgia-by-proxy as "Nashville."

How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 Yale’s Bicentennial Schlock collection offers a window into the star-spangled commercialism that swept the country 50 years ago. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

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Quality library content @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

We know how to celebrate #USA 😎

Omg I love Bicentennial schlock. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...