A Very Reason Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! What better way to kick off the holiday weekend than with a stroll through Reason's archives.

If fireworks are your bag, enjoy "Free the Fireworks!" by Greg Beato and "Light Fuse, Get Away" by Robert Stacy McCain. For deep thoughts on some of the biggest, worst fireworks in recent American memory, re-read Jonathan Rauch on the first post-9/11 Fourth of July, "After 226 Years, an Independence Day Like No Other."

If you're feeling warm and fuzzy about the Constitution, try Damon W. Root on Frederick Douglass, "A Glorious Liberty Document" or look to the future with Ronald Bailey on equality in the era of genetic engineering, "Created Equal?" Plus, Nick Gillespie reminds us that "Those Founding Fathers Were Some Far-Out Groovy Cats Who Definitely Passed the Acid Test, Man!"

And where would America be without her hippies? Sometimes they celebrate the Fourth by gathering in a forest, "Take Me to Your Leader." Other times, they join D.C. smoke-ins, "Give Me Librium or Give Me Meth." Speaking of the 1970s, why not enjoy a little vintage Reason graphic design from our bicentennial issue?

Finally, check out these Reason.tv Fourth of July vids to round off your reading and start the weekend right: