The Year 1876
America’s centennial was celebrated in 1876 and the event of the year was the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, or what many across the country
simply referred to as the Centennial Exposition. Held in Philadelphia from May to November, the exposition celebrated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Equally important was the opportunity to show the world America’s industrial capabilities and how much the country had grown in such a short period.
One of the wonders unveiled to the public was the telephone for which Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent just a couple of months before the exhibition opened. Equally advanced, but
not nearly as appreciated, was the Remington No. 1. Also known as the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, it was the first commercially successful typewriter targeted at businesses such
as law offices, newspapers, authors, and the clergy. At $125 each, the cost was far too great for the average person.
New foods also captured public attention during the centennial year. For decades, table sauces were used to enhance, or mask, the flavor of ordinary food. These sauces were commonly referred
to as ketchup, but those with a tomato base were a more recent evolution of table sauces. The H. J. Heinz Company introduced Heinz Tomato Ketchup, being sure to include tomato in its name
as to distinguish itself from other types of ketchup.
Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis first markets a pale lager beer to be sold nationally. Budweiser beer becomes an instant favorite. For the more conservative, a new solid concentrate of sixteen wild
roots and berries was being sold. Five gallons of this beverage could be made from each twenty-five cent packet of powder. By 1876, Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Hires had perfected his
recipe for root beer and he cultivated customers by giving away free samples of his Hires Root Beer at the Centennial Exposition.
A great American novel was making its way to the homes of expectant readers across the country. Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, published his classic tale,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, in late 1876. Based on the escapades of a young Twain and those close to him, the book remains a worldwide favorite.
While the centennial year was one of celebration and wonder, not all was well across the country. In June, a battle between the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, led by George
Custer, and the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, led by Sitting Bull, fought in the Battle of Little Big Horn. Custer’s devastating loss at the hand the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne would be
the most famous encounter during the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877.
In 1876, the United States silver twenty-cent piece, which failed to gain acceptance anywhere in the country, would enjoy its last year of production as a circulating coin.
