The unofficial U.S. anthem is surprisingly relevant
|  | Monday, July 4, 2022 | | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE STEINMETZ, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION | |
By David Beard
Amber waves of grain. Purple mountain majesty. Many people make the mistake that America The Beautiful, the nation’s unofficial anthem, harkens back to a simpler time.
“It does not,” historian Jill Lepore insists. “Americans of (poet) Katharine Lee Bates’s day were as politically divided as Americans of this day—arguably, they were more divided—over everything from immigration to land use to racial justice to economic inequality. And her America was similar to this America in more ways, too: It was wondrous and cruel, rich and poor, merciless and merciful, beautiful and ugly.”
Writing for Nat Geo, Lepore calls the poem “a window to another America, and also, in its way, a mirror to our own.”
Read the full story here. Related: See the America that unites.
And on this Fourth of July, stream National Geographic’s “America the Beautiful” series, narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, on Disney+. Here’s a trailer.
(Pictured above, combines moving through a Kansas wheat field; below, Nat Geo Explorer Peter McBride captures a Grand Canyon hiker taking in the sunset.)
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER MCBRIDE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION | | Please, consider supporting our storytelling by subscribing to our magazine and unlimited digital offerings for just $2.99 a month.
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 | | IMAGE COURTESY OF THE PICTURE ART COLLECTION/ALAMY | | Declaration of what? What was the need for a document for a group of American rebels to say they were free of colonial rule? They needed to say that they realized their long quest for an equal voice and participation in British government would never happen. And that the only way these Americans could gain a voice was to break away, despite the risks. That stunning realization surprised them. “We are in the very midst of a revolution,” John Adams proclaimed 246 years ago, “the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of nations.” (Pictured above, John Trumbull’s painting “Declaration of Independence” depicts the five-man drafting committee of the document presenting its work to Congress.)
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY DIANE COOK AND LEN JENSHEL, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION | | The rockets’ red glare: What would the Fourth be like without fireworks? Nat Geo has examined how fireworks, invented in China, made their way to the U.S., partly due to two family businesses in Bari and Caserta, Italy. The image above, recently resurfaced by our Photo of the Day archival collection, shows a couple watching fireworks on the Fourth over the Hudson River from a spot in New York City. See more vintage photographs here.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY GRETA PRATT | | Why pose as Abe Lincoln? For these reenactors, it’s personal. Nineteen reenactors profiled by photographer Greta Pratt expressed such admiration for the Great Emancipator that some acknowledged they had been intimidated representing him. (Pictured above, Gerald Bestrom with his log cabin-styled motor home.)
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| Today's newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Heather Kim, Jen Tse, and Monica Williams. A topical question for you today: Do you love or hate fireworks? Let us know at david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails! | | | |
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