The Richard Crepeau U.S. Bicentennial collection, 1975-1976, contains materials that commemorate the 200th anniversary of America's independence following the American Revolution. It consists of books, advertisements, newspapers, booklets, pamphlets, flyers, press releases, and other memorabilia relating to the American Revolution Bicentennial. The collection was chiefly assembled by Richard Crepeau and students in his American History course in 1976. This collection provides insight into consumerism in 1976, and how the Bicentennial year was advertised and poised to the public through everyday objects and materials. It also offers a glimpse into daily life and popular culture in 1976. Richard Crepeau is a retired University of Central Florida (UCF) professor. In 1974, he graduated from Florida State University with a Ph.D. while working as a history professor. During his forty-four-year tenure at UCF, he taught courses on sports history. He also authored two books, Melbourne Village: The First Twenty-Five Years and Baseball: American's Diamond Mind, alongside many essays and articles. He also served as the president of the North American Society for Sport's History. Since Crepeau's retirement in 2016, he has revised one of his published books, titled NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime, which was republished in 2020. Crepeau started the "Bicentennial Junk" collection in the summer of 1975 when he realized that the Bicentennial, the two hundredth anniversary of the American Revolution, was going to be commercialized. During the Bicentennial year, he asked UCF students in his American History survey class to contribute to the collection by bringing in any Bicentennial-themed items they could find.
