Published in Philadelphia in 1887, 1787 Constitutional Centennial March was composed by Fred T. Baker for the Constitutional Centennial celebration held in Philadelphia on September 15–17, 1887. The piece commemorated the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and was issued by F. A. North & Co. as part of the extensive public culture surrounding the anniversary.
Philadelphia’s three-day observance included processions, ceremonies, receptions, and a major military display. The events used the Constitution’s centennial to celebrate the nation’s Revolutionary origins and to present constitutional government as a unifying element of American civic life. President Grover Cleveland participated in the celebration as the sitting president.
The march’s illustrated cover turns that civic message into a compact visual program. It contains eight engraved portrait medallions, bringing together leading figures from the founding era, organizers of the 1887 celebration, and the incumbent president. Across the top appear George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, three central figures in the Constitution’s creation and early history.
The remaining portraits are John A. Kasson, Hampton L. Carson, and Amos R. Little, leaders of the Constitutional Centennial Commission; Col. A. Loudon Snowden, marshal of the Industrial Parade scheduled for September 15; and President Grover Cleveland. Their inclusion links the historical authority of the Constitution’s framers to the civic organizers and federal leadership responsible for the 1887 commemoration.
More than a decorative wrapper for an instrumental march, the publication demonstrates how late-nineteenth-century patriotic print culture made national history visible and marketable. By placing founders, public officials, local organizers, and the president in one composition, the cover presents the Constitutional Centennial as both a remembrance of 1787 and a living civic tradition in 1887.
A cover for Fred T. Baker’s 1787 Constitutional Centennial March, published in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Centennial celebration of September 15–17, 1887. Eight engraved portraits appear on the cover: George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John A. Kasson, Hampton L. Carson, Amos R. Little, Col. A. Loudon Snowden, and President Grover Cleveland, who was serving his first term. Image via Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
