Excerpt from What Is the Centennial? And How to See It: 1776-1876 One hundred years since, and our forefathers Were in deep trouble and tribulation, but by God' s blessing and their own courage, patience, and perse verance they were enabled to enunciate that great document, the Declaration of Independence, by which the future prosperity and welfare of our people was secured. On each annual recurrence of this day, w e have had some proper recognition, either in the glittering words of the orator, -or the -music of the military band, the sound of cannon, and the brilliancy of fire-works; but now we are on the verge of the one hundredth anniversary of this great day, and it seems eminently proper that it should be recognized in some special manner. During the past century the progress of the nation in invention and manufactures has been wonderful, and the great and satisfactory results to the welfare of the people are admitted all over the' world. To bring together all the evidences of this progress, and to combine in one location the engines of industry and their products, would of itself be a fitting testimonial to the great and good men who have bequeathed to us the valuable privileges we now enjoy. To make the occasion one of still greater interest, it has been decided to invite all other nations to enter into this peaceful conflict; feeling, as we'do, our ability to meet them in all branches of mechanical industry with credit to ourselves and to our revolutionary forefathers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.