The Founders anticipated that their countrymen and their descendants could commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence with reverence and enthusiasm. The Fourth of July stands as the nation’s most important, and beloved, secular holiday. From time to time good citizens fear the Fourth might be losing its luster. In 1950, the secretary of the Treasury ordered that replicas of the Liberty Bell be cast and distributed to the states. The bell designated for Virginia followed a circuitous path before ending up at a Charlottesville firehouse, where it remains, a noble symbol of self-evident truths.