For the president, July 4th is a day to relax, strain, and listen to the reds, whites, and boos.

Washington – Throughout history, Independence Day has been a day for some presidents to declare independence from their people. They have fled to beaches, mountains, golf courses, farms and ranches. During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt sailed to Hawaii on a fishing and working holiday.

For some presidents, it was also a day to put themselves at the center of the whole.

Teddy Roosevelt drew hundreds of thousands to his speech on July 4th. In 2019, Donald Trump lined up tanks, Bombers and other war machines usually eschew military forces to join the celebrations.

Richard Nixon infuriated the anti-war public without even showing up. As the 1970 anti-Nixon demonstrations showed, Independence Day in the capital isn’t always just a fun event. There is also the tradition of red, white and boo.

But in modern times, presidents tend to step back and let the people party.

George W. Bush held a ceremony to welcome immigrants as new citizens. Barack Obama held a South Lawn BBQ for his army. Bill Clinton went to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay to see a young bald eagle named Freedom released into the wild.

In 2021, Joe Biden gathered over 1,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House to eat burgers and watch fireworks. The event was notable. A gathering like this was inconceivable in the first year of the pandemic. Many wished Biden hadn’t thought of that even then, but the wrath of Omicron’s COVID-19 variant was yet to come.

Still, hamburgers were better than July 4, 1850, when Zachary Taylor ate apparently rotten cherries and milk. Died 5 days later.

Let’s see what some presidents did on Independence Day.

1777: On the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence while the War of Independence was underway, future President John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife Abigail that spontaneous day and night celebrations were held in Philadelphia. is written. He told her that after hours of military parades, fireworks, bonfires and music, he took a walk alone in her darkness.

“Walking down the street for some fresh air and some exercise, I was surprised to find the whole city lit with candles in the windows,” he wrote. I walked most of the evening and I think it was the most amazing illumination I have ever seen. Some crusty houses were dark. But the light was so universal. Given the slowness of design and abruptness of execution, I was struck by the universal joy and agility that was discovered, and the brilliance and splendor of every part of this delightful exhibition. “

1791: Two years after taking office as the first president, George Washington celebrated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with “speeches, fine dining, and walking around the city,” according to the National Park Service. Philadelphia was the interim capital while preparations were being made for the city of Washington to be built. Lancaster hosted the Continental Congress during the Revolution and held emergency meetings.

1798: Adams, now president, watches a military parade in Philadelphia as the young nation rises to power.

1801: Thomas Jefferson presides over the first public Independence Day reception at the White House.

1822: James Monroe relaxes on his farm in Virginia.

1826: Adams, the second president, and Jefferson, the third, die on July 4th.

1831: James Monroe, the fifth president, died on July 4th.

1848: James Polk witnesses the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument, also attended by then Illinois legislator Abraham Lincoln. A military parade follows.

1850: Taylor attends a festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument, eats cherries, drinks cold milk and water, and then falls ill with stomach cramps. He died on July 9th. The theory that someone poisoned him with arsenic was debunked in 1991 when his body was exhumed and examined.

1861: Lincoln sends a message to Congress defending his war powers, urging more troops to fight the South, allowing “this great rebellion to nest within our borders” Virginia accused of He will “go forward without fear,” he vowed.

1868: After the war, Andrew Johnson executed an edict pardoning those who fought for the Confederacy.

1902: Teddy Roosevelt addresses 200,000 people in Pittsburgh.

1914: Woodrow Wilson declares, “Right or wrong, this is our country” at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

1928: Calvin Coolidge (born July 4, 1872) goes trout fishing in Wisconsin.

1930: Herbert Hoover vacations along the Rapidan River in Virginia.

1934: Franklin Roosevelt leaves Annapolis, Maryland and is in or near the Bahamas after visiting Hawaii on a month-long voyage via the Panama Canal. On July 4, USS Houston’s logbook states that a “fishing party” left the ship for part of the day.

1946: With World War II ending the previous year, Harry Truman relaxes at President Roosevelt’s Shangri-La retreat (later renamed Camp David) in Maryland’s Catocchin Mountains.

1951: As the U.S.-Korean War continues, Truman addresses a large crowd on the grounds of the Washington Monument to mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

1953 and 1957: Dwight Eisenhower-Golf.

1968: Lyndon Johnson, who liked his ranch in Texas on holidays, found San Antonio with the poor, the minorities, the sick, those who “must breathe the polluted air”, and those living in fear of crime. of their lack of independence. Despite our Independence Day rhetoric. “

1970: California President Nixon is carried away by crowds on the National Mall during the Honor America Day celebrations hosted by his supporters and violent protests by anti-war masses and civil rights activists Record a message. Tear gas hits demonstrators and celebrants alike, Viet Cong flags mix with the Stars and Stripes, and demonstrators (some naked) jump into reflecting pools.

1976: As the United States celebrates its 200th anniversary, Gerald Ford speaks at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, then at Independence Hall, and looks back at the Tall Fleet in New York Harbor.

1987: Ronald Reagan makes outspoken political statements in a holiday radio address at Camp David, proposing an economic “Bill of Rights” and Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. On Saturdays, it served as his weekly radio address, used by him and other modern presidents for their agendas.

2008: Bush hosts a naturalization ceremony, as have several previous presidents. More than 70 people from 30 countries have been accepted as new citizens.

2010: President Obama brings 1,200 military personnel to South Lawn for a barbecue. The father of Maria, born on July 4, joked that he always thought the capital’s fireworks were meant for him.

2012: President Obama combines two Independence Day traditions of celebrating the military and new citizens by honoring the naturalization of U.S. servicemen who came to the country as immigrants.

2017: President Trump goes to the golf club and then hosts a picnic at the White House for military families.

2021: Biden tell the crowd “We are closer than ever to declaring independence from a deadly virus,” said South Lawn. It was the biggest event since his inauguration. Covid-19 cases and deaths were at or near record lows at that point, but will recover as the Micron variant spreads.

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Associated Press reporter Darlene Superville contributed to this report.