For the third straight America Day, more popularly known as Independence Day or “July 4th,” LP takes a special look back at the holiday that not only made the United States what it is today, but also represents Americans as a people. So sit back with your mustard-and-relish-slathered hot dog, your homemade charcoal-grilled bacon doublecheeseburger, your ale of choice, and your sixer of antacid, and please enjoy this special America Day list (and a bonus history).
Of course, the most American way to celebrate America Day is with a good, old-fashioned American hot dog, and the presidents from Washington onward recognized this. Of course, the hot dog itself only became available to the general public in the early 20th century, but its history goes back much, much further than that.
When the Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, the following passage was included in them:
Upon a certain passage of Time, those most respeckted [sic] and honourable Senior Members of this Government will have earned the privilege of consuming a special Dish, prepared specifically for…this Nation.
The food was intended as a reward for long-serving elected representatives who had performed their duties admirably and honestly. Soon after the passage of the Articles, however, it was quickly forgotten, as no one was sure exactly how to implement it. The government would get as far as naming a Chef General in 1783, but who he was has been lost to history. His only official creation, though, would be what we know as today as the hot dog.
When the Articles were abandoned for the Constitution in 1787, the passage was dropped due to the predominant thought that it was a joke that was overlooked (many of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention would actually refer to the “Dish Passage” as a metaphor for the Articles of Confederation). Years later, after the election of Washington, Vice-President Adams was sorting through some papers when he found an original draft of the recipe for the hot dog by the Chef General. Thinking this the work of President Washington’s personal chef (who was prone to leaving his papers around), Adams sent it to the man.
The chef’s name was Hercules, and surprisingly, he was a very literate slave that Washington had brought with him from Mount Vernon. Hercules was astounded upon reading the recipe. While he did not leave a personal diary, Martha Washington did, and historians believe that this was the scene when the chef read the recipe for the first time:
Suddenly, from the Kitchen, I heard a whoop…such as I had never heard before. I rushed in to find Hercules grasping a Note…and I enquired as to what was the matter. He responded that nothing was wrong but that the President would soon enjoy a Meal fit for a man of his esteemd [sic] Position.
Hercules prepared the first hot dog using scraps of meat from prior presidential dinners. Anecdotally, Washington’s first taste of a hot dog was simply outstanding; in stories passed down orally through the governmental chef corps, the president exclaimed his approval of the food and demanded more as he scarfed down the rest of it. Knowing how good it was, Washington later told Hercules that this meal would be a symbol of the fledgling nation, and as a show of respect for the country, each newly-elected president would dine on an “open-faced Columbia-meat sandwich” (the phrase “hot dog” would come into use with the food’s spread to the common people in the early 20th century).
-George Washington: none (condiments had not yet been discovered, although he preferred his with a nice brandy)
-Thomas Jefferson: a primitive form of ketchup which was more like crushed tomatoes in a tomato juice
-William Henry Harrison: no condiments, no bun
-Zachary Taylor: oddly, liked a fruit spread on a cold hot dog
-Millard Fillmore: didn’t like it, was a dick
-Ulysses S. Grant: mustard, onions, relish, no ketchup
-Grover Cleveland: ketchup, mustard, spicy relish, onions, a pickle, and another mystery relish
-Benjamin Harrison: ketchup, just ketchup
-William Howard Taft: another hot dog
-Calvin Coolidge: none, preferred to let the meat do the talking
-Jimmy Carter: it’s rather obvious–honey
-Ronald Reagan: American condiments
-Bill Clinton: whatever you want, baby, he’s fine with it
Past America Day columns:
Happy America Day 2010: Presidents’ Favorite America Day Pastimes
America Day 2009: This America Day in History
