Fifty years ago today, America was two years out from its 200th birthday. Americans were gearing up to party like it was 1776. Patriotic fervor dominated the media even though the actual celebration was still 24 months away. CBS embraced the spirit of America by launching a program that lasted nearly two-and-a-half years called the 'Bicentennial Minutes.' Every night from July 4, 1974, till New Year’s Eve 1976, America’s leading men and women gave us a 60-second history lesson.
Left and right fight over the path to the future on everything from education to foreign policy as our adversaries arm themselves to fight against freedom. But when the bicentennial was approaching, the thing we didn’t fight about was the founding of our country. And so, hundreds of celebrities from every area of achievement pulled together to tell those stories of hope, bravery and patriotism.