A yearlong birthday party. Inside America’s 250th anniversary plans

This year, Arizona will ferry a replica of the Liberty Bell through its 15 counties; New Jersey will host a slate of history-themed 5K races; Kentucky will plant a tulip-poplar tree in each of its 120 counties, and Colorado will dazzle nearly 150 of its communities with drone shows.  

Across the country, Americans will walk into mobile Airstream studios to tell their stories; children will write about what America means to them for a chance to win a historical trip, and charity organizations will attempt to log the most volunteer service hours in history.  

These are but a sampling of the dizzying array of initiatives planned to mark the semiquincentennial, the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  

Years of work by national organizations, states, local governments and nonprofits will culminate in what is expected to be a monthslong symphony of reflection and celebration across the country.  

America250, the official commission designated by Congress to organize the commemoration, deliberately planned a wide range of programs ‒ from grand parades and fireworks, to reflective essay contests, town halls and newly commissioned works of art. Every state had a different path to becoming part of the United States of America.

“If you look at our country, where we were in 1776, Alaska was [part of] Russia. Hawaii was its own kingdom. California was Spain,” Chair Rosie Rios told USA TODAY. “Our goal is really to empower the states to also tell their stories.” 

“We want to make this as grassroots and community-driven as possible,” Rios said, adding that “optionality” is among the key ways the group plans to engage all of the nearly 350 million people living in the country.

A divided America 

America250 has organized a lineup of national programming to guide the yearlong red, white and blue extravaganza.  

For instance, the group is running a nationwide contest, called America’s Field Trip, asking young people in grades 3 through 12 to produce an essay or artwork that describes what America means to them. One hundred and twenty-five winners will receive a three-day trip to a historical or cultural site around the country, such as the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  

The organization is also encouraging nonprofits, schools, faith groups and businesses to rack up a record-setting amount of volunteer hours, to rekindle a “culture of community service.” Americans are encouraged to take a Year of Service pledge and log their volunteer hours.   

Rios said the initiatives were created to “educate, engage, and unite,” the latter of which is no easy task at a time when Americans are deeply divided, particularly over how to tell the country’s story.  

Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order focused on how history is presented, urging institutions to tell an uplifting story of American history. He announced a review of the Smithsonian Institution, arguing that the museums were too “woke” and focused too much on “how bad slavery was." 

The moves were criticized by academics and historians, who argued they were an attempt to “whitewash” the nation’s past.  

In December, he launched a nonprofit called Freedom 250 to organize a slew of initiatives separate from those outlined by the bipartisan America250. He plans to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn and an athletic competition among high school students that has been compared to the fictional Hunger Games and ridiculed by Democrats.  

Despite the counterprogramming, Rios told USA TODAY the partisanship that defines American politics has not bled into the commemoration planning. Trump, she said, “deserves to plan the celebration that he wants to plan.”  

“We think this will only contribute to the need for folks to really reflect, engage as they see fit,” Rios said. “Whether they want it to be a celebration, whether they want it to be a commemoration. We have all of those abilities in place.” 

History repeats itself 50 years on

This year’s celebrations are bound to be compared to the Bicentennial of 1976, an anniversary often remembered for its tall ships and Uncle Sam slathered merchandise.  

The lead-up to and orchestration of the 250th is reminiscent of that last major milestone observance 50 years ago.

While the Bicentennial is often criticized for its more commercial elements, historian and American University professor M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska, said it was a moment of enormous resource-building across the country.  

“If you do an image search for bicentennial, what you'll see is like a parade at Disneyland where all the Disney characters are dressed up in, tri-corner hats and they're on top of a giant birthday cake,” Rymsza-Pawlowska said.  

In reality, she suggested the majority of programming around the 1976 anniversary happened at the local level and was viewed “less as patriotic” and more reflective.  

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened for the Bicentennial in 1976 and the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival began on the National Mall in Washington that year. Across the country, history museums and historical societies were established as part of the commemoration.   

John Dichtl, president of the American Association for State and Local History, argued same is likely to be true for the 250th.  

Thousands of organizations from coast to coast have been building and organizing for the anniversary, some for more than a decade. Most Americans will be touched by the 250th through these events in their local communities, more so than by the endeavors of national organizations, Dichtl suggested.  

“What they're really going to remember years later is how they and their families connected locally with history,” Dichtl said. “It by definition makes it an inclusive, widely shared story of what this country is.” 

Looking back at her own memories of the bicentennial, Rios, who was in elementary school at the time, said more than the tall ships and Freedom Train, she remembered the commemoration as “a feeling.” It’s how she hopes other Americans will remember the semiquincentennial.  

“I believe strongly that this is as much about the future as it is the past,” she told USA TODAY.   

“That ongoing journey to become more perfect is exactly what we are commemorating and hopefully planting the seed for an even longer journey and a longer conversation about who we want to be as a country.” 

Karissa Waddick, who covers America's semiquincentennial for USA TODAY, can be reached at [email protected].