The United States of America is now just twelve months removed from its Quarter-Millennial year. Many Americans of Generation X and older will fondly recall the spirited celebration of the American Revolution that swept the nation from April 1, 1975 through December 31, 1976. The upcoming milestone needs to emulate the Bicentennial by celebrating our founding and unifying our citizenry.
During the Bicentennial, colonial-themed parades and historical reenactments were everywhere. Tall ships from 30 nations paid homage to our nation鈥檚 birth by visiting New York harbor on July 4, 1976. The red, white, and blue American Freedom Train, propelled by a steam locomotive evoking America鈥檚 exploration of the West, visited towns in all 48 contiguous states. The train bore historic documents and artifacts including George Washington鈥檚 draft of the Constitution, John Kennedy鈥檚 hand-written draft of his inaugural address, the first American Bible, rocks from the moon, and Paul Revere鈥檚 saddlebags.
CBS, ABC, and 鈥淪esame Street鈥� ran Bicentennial-themed, historical, and civic-education programs. There was renewed interest in American history at the state and local level, and increased scholarly research on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. The Bicentennial was a unifying show of gratitude for the first 200 years of a nation that Alexander Hamilton called 鈥渋n many respects the most interesting in the world.鈥�
America badly needed that celebration at that time. In 1976, the country was coming off of a decade featuring high crime, riots, racial tensions, Watergate, and Vietnam. A half-century later, America is coming off of a decade featuring high crime, riots, racial tensions, Covid mandates, and a disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. What was true then is true now: America needs to reconnect to the 鈥渟pirit of 鈥�76鈥� with gratitude and reverence for the founding of our nation.
In terms of classical statesmanship, the American founders represent perhaps the greatest leadership class in human history. Other political leaders may have successfully defended their way of life, but our founders (as they promised in the Federalist Papers) created a new type of regime, a novus ordo seclorum, or a new order for the ages 鈥� a constitutional republic that has provided as much or more opportunity, prosperity, and, ultimately, freedom as any other society, past or present. The Constitutional Convention was a singular gathering of greats. As Daniel Webster put it, 鈥淢iracles do not cluster. That which has happened but once in six thousand years cannot be expected to happen often.鈥�
This, unfortunately, is not how the Left sees things. Progressives view America鈥檚 founding and most of its history as being at least as worthy of condemnation as of celebration. In the Left鈥檚 telling, America was flawed from the beginning, there鈥檚 little from the founding to celebrate, the Civil War, which claimed the lives of at least 600,000 mostly white farm boys, clerks, and tradesmen, didn鈥檛 repay the debt for the horrors of slavery that Abraham Lincoln suggested it did, and the 1960s civil rights movement didn鈥檛 go far enough.
The Left鈥檚 hyper-critical interpretation of American history has seeped into preliminary plans for the Quarter-Millennial. The America250 organization that is planning much of next year鈥檚 anniversary includes 鈥渄iverse鈥� and 鈥渋nclusive鈥� in its 50-word mission statement but couldn鈥檛 find the space for 鈥淎merican Revolution,鈥� 鈥淎merican Founding,鈥� 鈥淒eclaration of Independence,鈥� or anything else clearly hearkening back to 1776. In contrast, the Bicentennial鈥檚 official planning group was called the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, leaving no doubt what was being celebrated.
Washington state鈥檚 official America250 committee is emphasizing the darker aspects of our nation鈥檚 history. The committee chair, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, complained that 鈥渢here鈥檚 not even a hint of celebration鈥� in the plans. State representative Kristine Reeves explained to him, 鈥淣ot everybody is exactly excited about celebrating America.鈥� She told Heck that Washington鈥檚 America250 committee wants the harms of our past put front and center.
Unlike Leftists, most Americans know that any human society is, and always will be, imperfect 鈥� and therefore in need of patriots to right injustices. And most Americans recognize that our inheritance is one of the greatest in world history 鈥� one that we should affirm rather than apologize for.
American civilization was built by pioneers, entrepreneurs, inventors, religious leaders, and social reformers, and it has been defended by soldiers who freed the slaves and saved the world from tyranny. Thus, the Quarter-Millennial should be a full-throated celebration of our history and heroes: of George Washington, Independence Hall, Yorktown, Lincoln, Appomattox Court House, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Wright brothers, Jim Thorpe, the Babe, Midway, Normandy, Jackie Robinson, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Apollo landings, America鈥檚 triumph over communism, and much else.
As President Trump鈥檚 executive order creating the 1776 Commission put it, we should present our founding in a way that is 鈥渁ccurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling.鈥� Celebrations should connect Americans to their extraordinary inheritance through events like Trump鈥檚 proposed year-long 鈥淕reat American State Fair鈥� and by reviving the steam-powered American Freedom Train.
Most importantly, our Quarter-Millennial celebration (鈥淪emiquincentennial鈥� is clunky and unmemorable; America鈥檚 250th lacks the gravity of the Bicentennial) must unite us as Americans. It must remind our citizenry that the Declaration of Independence is a document of universal truths and that, in Lincoln鈥檚 words, all Americans 鈥渉ave a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh, of the men who wrote that Declaration.鈥� In short, the Quarter-Millennial is the best opportunity in 50 years to reorient the citizenry toward the American Founding, and we shouldn鈥檛 squander it.
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