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July 4th History: Sean Wilentz on Its Forgotten Partisanship

Every year Americans celebrate our patriotic unity, but historian Sean Wilentz writes that from the start this day was used by opponents to score political points—and that we shouldn’t forget our history is as much about conflict as comity.

articles/2010/07/03/sean-wilentz-on-the-history-of-the-4th-of-july/wilentz-fourth-of-july_111385_ffqsdm
Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images

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