"Huzza!": Toasting a New Nation, 1760-1815

Raising a glass to toast someone at a wedding or birthday is a familiar and usually informal occurrence, but at one time it was a carefully orchestrated ritual. They were planned, revised, given at an event, and then printed in newspapers. Americans learned who was or was not toasted for early national celebrations: King George III, George Washington, the Fourth of July, Washington's birthday, Jefferson's election, or military victories. During the tumultuous years of partisan fighting, to...