1876 image shows Americans marking the nation’s 100th birthday with a Fourth of July flag raising near the U.S. Capitol. Coming just a decade after the Civil War, reflecting a country still healing but determined to emphasize unity and shared history. The presence of families and children points to how patriotism was taught and passed down, not just celebrated. At a time when the United States was expanding and modernizing, the flag stood as a reminder of the Revolutionary era and the ideals the country claimed to carry forward.