Even after the tragedy of the Civil War, it would have been impossible to be oblivious to America’s upcoming centennial. The country’s 100th birthday was a milestone that the nation’s citizens were happily awaiting. For such a momentous occasion, only a spectacular celebration would do.
During the country’s 90th year, in December of 1866, John Campbell, a professor at Wabash College in Indiana, became the first (or at least is credited with that recognition) to officially propose the idea of hosting a world’s fair commemorating 1776. He presented the idea to Morton McMichael, the mayor of Philadelphia—the birthplace of the country’s birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence.
