How should America celebrate its 250th anniversary?

A recent meeting in D.C. built on five years of planning, but a unifying vision for 2026 remains elusive.

The “America 250” logo, courtesy of America250.org

While many in our nation—and, indeed, around the world—were focused on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week, my eyes were equally focused on another gathering of delegates happening in Washington, D.C.: a meeting of state and territory representatives to figure out how to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

In case you did not know or realize it, the United States of America is turning 250 years old in two years. While that may feel like the distant future—especially given how much hangs in the balance between now and then based on the November elections—for mobilizing a country of 340 million people, two years is not a lot of time.

There have actually been efforts to rally around this anniversary dating back to before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, I attended a meeting in Hartford, Connecticut, and another in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, among professional historians to brainstorm around this anniversary, facilitated by the National Council on Public History (NCPH) and the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). At those meetings we discussed how history organizations and the broader public could commemorate this moment. Those meetings were largely about getting history organizations on board and preparing staff for what was being dubbed America’s Semiquincentennial, a word that does not exactly roll off the tongue.

Then, as we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. The public health crisis, coupled with the crisis of keeping history museums open and solvent, overtook people’s attentions. There was also a contentious presidential election; the events of January 6th, 2021; and the post-Covid economic recovery, not to mention the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the rise of ChatGPT and artificial intelligence. All of this has, rightly, consumed public and policymaker focus during the past few years.

Meanwhile, organizations like AASLH and others have continued to try and muster support for America 250. There is even a national organization dedicated to this effort, called (appropriately enough) America 250. If you’ve not heard of America 250 you are likely not alone; and if you have heard of America 250, it might be because of the controversies that have engulfed the organization since its inception. As reported by the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, America 250 has been beset by numerous challenges, to put it diplomatically. There have been allegations of misogyny, workplace toxicity, and misuse of taxpayer dollars. Partnerships that were in formation fell apart, and plans to engage corporations, institutions and citizens did not materialize. Much of the staff of the organization turned over in its short existence, and it is now under the direction of Rosie Rios, a longtime Washington insider who formally served as Treasurer of the United States under President Barack Obama. Rios has a background in management consulting and investing; she is not a professional historian.

It was Rosie Rios and America 250 that hosted the “State and Territory Convening” at the U.S. Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution last week in Washington, D.C. I did not attend; however, I did receive feedback from people who did. I have also been keeping my ear-to-the-ground on the semiquincentennial since 2019. Suffice it to say, the broad challenges that the history profession faces have manifested themselves in the planning for this occasion:

Lack of Funding

Many history organizations are chronically underfunded. There are exceptions; large organizations such as Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution have annual budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But roughly 80% of America’s 20,000+ history organizations operate with annual budgets of $200,000 or less. This does not provide many resources to create new programs for America 250.

One vision for America 250 was that it would be an opportunity for fundraising—not solely for the semiquincentennial but also beyond. The idea was that the interest in the anniversary would stimulate donors to increase giving, allowing organizations to mark the 250th while also investing in future operations.

There is precedent for this. Some readers might remember 1976 and the 200th anniversary of the United States. The bicentennial was punctuated by the sailing of tall ships past the Statue of Liberty in a display that has remained fixed in the memories of those who witnessed it. Lesser known among the broader public is how instrumental that anniversary was to the funding and establishment of history organizations nationwide. Many history organizations in the U.S. owe their existence to the bicentennial; they were funded and created in-or-around 1976, and that funding enabled them to establish relationships with community members and donors, keeping their doors open for decades to come. The vision among some history professionals has been that 2026 could do similarly, stimulating sorely needed donations, support and attention for history museums, historical societies and other history organizations. That has yet to materialize; however, there have been lobbying efforts to urge the U.S. Congress and state legislatures to include funds for the anniversary in their appropriations.

Contested Histories

Another issue surrounding 2026 is the contested terrain of American history itself. When one looks at the founding generation of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and others, there is much to laud and admire. However, there is also much to criticize and regret. In the past 50 years, scholars and activists have pointed out how the founding of the United States came at the tragic expense of indigenous populations and enslaved populations, not to mention indentured laborers and other persecuted groups. Among some decolonization scholars, the establishment of the United States is not a cause for celebration, and the atrocities committed against tribal civilizations by European settlers should be a cause for critical introspection and the advancement of social justice goals, not for fireworks above the Washington Monument.

This has created divisions within the history profession about what to do with the 250th. How celebratory should it be? Should it be joyous? Solemn? Both? The answers will likely vary among communities, organizations and even state-to-state or city-to-city. But, of course, when thinking about what a national celebration might look like, these become thorny issues. Some academics have suggested that the anniversary is not worth celebrating at all.

East Coast-centricity

One final issue that continues to emerge in all of the conversations I’ve been privy to is how much of this is will be an “East Coast anniversary” v. an “entire country anniversary.” Organizations in Virginia, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston—such as Monticello, the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Museum of the American Revolution to name three examples—have more resources and arguably a closer attachment to the War for American Independence than the western states. Historical re-enactments of the Battle of Bunker Hill staged in Charlestown, Massachusetts, for example, feel more salient than if staged in Taos, New Mexico.

Is the 250th a celebration of the American Revolution? A tribute to the Declaration of Independence? Or is it a commemoration of the entire American experiment? Will the anniversary have as much relevance on the West Coast as it does on the East Coast? Will East Coast institutions, particularly those that are well-funded by Congress or private donations, be willing to share their funding and resources with under-resourced institutions in less prosperous communities?

These questions, and more, swirled around the meeting that happened in Washington, D.C., last week. Again, I did not attend. However, I have heard feedback from people who did and I have been earshot to these conversations for more than five years, where the same issues have come up repeatedly. The current thinking from America 250, which is trying to find its sea legs after a tortuous few years, is that Americans will be encouraged to participate in the anniversary in several ways, including:

• An oral history project, similar to StoryCorps, where Americans can record and share their own experiences. How that gets done and where the oral histories will be archived remains unclear to me, though my understanding is those details are being worked out;

• “America’s Field Trip,” which will bring students from states and territories to institutions such as the Library of Congress on all-expenses-paid journeys to have them encounter historic documents like the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights;

• A distribution of American flags nationwide for a massive flag-waving experience on-or-around July 4, 2026.

There are other activities in the planning, and the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress are also staging exhibits, and perhaps even festivals, that will mark this anniversary (all of these plans are still in formation).

Hanging over all of this are the presidential politics of 2024. The recently issued 2024 Republican Party Platform actually includes a mention of the 250th, stating that the party will “organize a National Celebration to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America.” What that would look like under a second Trump Administration remains an open question. The same document also states that the party would “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” It certainly would make for a stark juxtaposition to have fireworks beside the Statue of Liberty—her pedestal engraved with the words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”—at the same time that tens-of-thousands of people are being deported.

A draft of the Democratic Party Platform, which was recently leaked to the media and pieces of which appear online (someone can please correct me if the entire document is available somewhere) does not seem to reference the 250th, though that could change before August. (Democrats need to also determine who will be their candidate for President.) If Donald Trump were to return to The White House, it will be interesting to see how that changes the calculus for professional historians. Academic historians were some of Trump’s and Republicans’ harshest and most vocal critics during his first term. It would create a delicate balancing act for professional historians to be vociferously criticizing the administration and Congress on one hand while also trying to garner funding and support from them on the other.

Finally, there is a lingering question about whether the 250th anniversary of anything is worth celebrating. It is an unusual number, and one is hard-pressed to pronounce the word semiquincentennial, let alone recall a prior 250th anniversary that was particularly resonant. The push to commemorate this anniversary is, in itself, an attempt to recreate history, harkening back to 1976 and 1876 in order to breathe much-needed funding and relevance into a profession that continues to face declines in enrollments, limited funding, elimination of professorships and high school teachers, and challenges posed by the massive amounts of e-history proliferating across social media and via artificial intelligence that promises you can learn history without having to engage with professional historians or pay for history classes.

So, will America 250 be a success? The good news is there is still time to get it right. There are commissions established in numerous states and those individuals were in attendance at the meeting last week to share some of their ideas. But there is much work still to do at the national, state and local levels to make this commemoration what its supporters believe it can be.

Perhaps the best way that people in the U.S. and around the world can get involved is to reach out to the organizations in your community, as well as to your elected officials. Ask them what they have planned for the 250th; and if they don’t have anything planned, make some suggestions or volunteer to help. You can write to your Member of Congress—Democrat, Republican or Independent—and tell them you would like them to earmark some funding for the anniversary.  

My History Communication Institute may also step in and try to create some programming. We have ideas, but we’d love to hear from you.

So, send me an email (click here to do so):

• Tell me what you would like to see for America 250;

• Tell me what you think should happen over the next two years;

• Tell me anything else you think about this upcoming anniversary.

I’ll incorporate your thoughts into our thinking, as well as pass them along to the powers-that-be. After all, there is no anniversary—and there is no United States of America—without us. We should have a say in how it gets commemorated. 

Have a good week,

-JS

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