The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. This document created an independent nation of the thirteen American colonies and officially severed ties to Great Britain. It also elevated an internal domestic dispute to a recognized international war. On July 4, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of this civilization-changing document that promised freedom and equality.
Because of the Declaration of Independence, Americans evolved from the early frontier to middle-class wealth and security rooted in personal homeownership. The Homestead Act of 1862 expanded homeownership by granting 160 acres of federal land to citizens willing to farm and build on the land. This one act created the idea of owning land as a core American right.
Wealthy Americans began building homes in different colonial styles brought from their country of origin. There were Spanish Colonial, French and Dutch Colonial homes and English saltbox homes in New England. Federal-style homes and buildings, as well as Greek Revival-style homes and buildings, found the young country testing the waters of its independence. The Industrial Age in the late 1800s created the mega-rich, unprecedented wealth and the Gilded Age.
Following that, in the 1920s, the Better Homes in America movement championed homeownership as a tool for civil stability. After World War II, the expansion and rise of suburbia signaled to every American that they had the ability and right to own their own home.
The G.I. Bill in 1944 offered veterans low-cost mortgages and the promise of homeownership. Next, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) standardized long-term mortgages, giving accessibility to the middle class.
But it wasn’t until William Levitt found a way to apply assembly-line techniques to build affordable, uniform suburban homes that the era of detached single-family homes became a reality and the “American Dream” was born. I grew up on Long Island during the boom years of suburban building and spent many days swimming at the pools in one of the Levittown communities. It was a dream come true for kids of my generation and their parents.
Home styles can change like the wind. Right here in Florida, we’ve gone from one-level ranch homes to Spanish-style two-level homes and then on to the “old Florida cottage” look, and now we’re seeing ultra-large, multi-level contemporary homes squeezed into narrow island streets. And let’s not forget the king of independence: Frank Lloyd Wright and his Prairie School of design, with low-pitched roofs, horizontal lines and open floor plans. And German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe brought international style to America with smooth geometric shapes, glass and steel.
The point of this historic review of American architecture is to demonstrate the freedom Americans had to design where and what they wanted in a home. Because of the heroes of 1776, ordinary people, for the first time in history, were given the ability to pursue wealth and choose where they wanted to live.
About a year ago, I saw the play “Hamilton” performed at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota. Not only was I impressed by the outstanding performance, but I also learned and was reminded that much of the story related to the War of Independence. I was happy to see families with their children there as well, and even if they only understood part of what was happening on stage, it was a learning experience for these young Americans.
On July 4, read the Declaration of Independence to your children and tell them how fortunate we are to live in freedom in a country like ours.
