America’s Semiquincentennial: the Story We Are Still Writing
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Our forefathers wrote those words when they declared independence from Great Britain. The new government they created, “deriving [its] just powers from the consent of the governed,” is now 250 years old. I am proud to be an American, and I pray she has at least 250 more years as the greatest nation on earth.
I love my country. I believe that we all love the United States of America. I believe we would all agree that she has had her share of tragedies, mistakes, and some outright cruelty in her past. That means our democracy is unfinished. I read somewhere that although the Constitution aims for a “more perfect union,” what makes this nation so special is that a perfect union is impossible. America was built on democracy, and is crafted into a more perfect union with each debate, each unanswered question, each compromise, and each acknowledgment of our shared humanity. Might I posit that the United States is made perfect by the very fact that it is impossible to be perfect? It is the never-ending tinkering with our democracy, the evolution of our policies and priorities, and unwavering dedication to our shared values that make democracy special. And what makes America truly special is that the freedom we celebrate today means so many different things. So, I encourage you to celebrate Life and Liberty however you choose to pursue your happiness this Independence Day.
Birth of an Idea
On April 19, 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord broke out. Ralph Waldo Emerson dubbed the opening shot “the shot heard round the world” because it sparked the Revolutionary War. The 13 colonies came together as a single, united force and fought one of the world's most powerful militaries. They had their own constitution and laws, and some were even fighting each other. Then on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution declaring these United Colonies to be free and independent states, and thus the United States was born; it was there that the people came together as a unified force. This era produced documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Bill of Rights. These documents and our Founding Fathers shaped and molded a nation that still stands today.
The United States was built on a simple promise: the American Dream. This is the idea that a nation exists for the sake of its People, that all have the freedom and liberty to pursue their happiness, and the government will abide by the United States Constitution and its simple guarantees. These ideals have been tested and challenged over time, but continue to stand as bulwarks against a tyrannical and overreaching government.
Nation Tested
Our founding fathers accomplished something extraordinary. Yet, from the beginning, this nation carried a contradiction: that “all men are created equal” (Declaration of Independence) and also that “[slavery] shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year [1808]” (United States Constitution, Article I, Section 9). Let’s never forget that with the Constitution, we became a republic, but millions remained enslaved. We started a revolution on the concept of liberty and freedom, and yet the very Constitution of that new nation protected slavery as an institution.
As our nation expanded Westward and new states began joining the Union, the divide only grew deeper. Abolitionists like Frederick Douglass challenged Congress and flooded Washington with anti-slavery petitions. It took a civil war to actually abolish slavery within our nation. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln introduced the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring an end to slavery in the United States and paving the way for the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. We have continued to shape and mold our “perfect union” throughout these 250 years.
Following the Civil War, advocacy continued, but this time on the issue of political equality for women. Among these issues was the right to vote. The women’s suffrage movement pushed lawmakers to guarantee women's rights in the years following the Civil War, but those rights were not guaranteed until the 19th Amendment became law. The 19th Amendment was first introduced into Congress in 1878. It was finally ratified in 1920, 42 years later.
Expanding Democracy
The decades that followed transformed our nation in ways the founders probably could not even imagine. Railroads, highways, and airports span the size of this country. The American financial markets and banking system came to dominate the global economy. America became a melting pot. As industry expanded, so did the cry for safer workplaces and fair wages. This is because the American Dream requires fundamental fairness and a true opportunity to succeed. This era brought millions of new voices into the democratic process, reinforcing that the power of the people will always be stronger than the people in power and that the government is only as strong as the people who participate.
Even as great progress was made regarding civil rights, the Great Depression devastated the working class in 1929. As a result, the 1930s were challenging for many Americans, though not always for the wealthy. In response to the widespread financial devastation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal in 1933, establishing a new role for government in economic security. This brought about significant structural changes, such as a massive expansion of the national parks, the United States as a direct employer of the unemployed, Social Security, and other protections and guarantees for the working class. Shortly thereafter, World War II broke out. In the decades that followed, the United States experienced a massive economic boom and continued to undergo a societal shift toward greater inclusion, sometimes at great cost.
A More Inclusive Union
America’s promise still remains unfinished. The Civil Rights Movement brought landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Despite missteps over time, the Civil Rights Movement proved that the United States lives up to its founding principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
During this same period, America showcased her capacity for cutting-edge innovation and greater leadership. The most powerful military in the world, the moon landing, and the end of the Cold War proved to the world that America could compete globally. We have seen the size of the world shrink with the inventions of the internet and the cellphone. The United States has expanded globally with military bases across the world. And the latter half of the Twentieth Century brought criminal justice reform, voting rights reform, and increased respect for personal liberties.
Modern America: What Would They Think?
July 4, 2026, marks America’s semiquincentennial. 250 years of the American experiment. I believe that we have drifted from our founding principles in recent history. The United States is embroiled in a culture war, even as the power of federal and state governments has expanded significantly. The government is actively moving to disenfranchise voters. Did our founding fathers envision a government shutdown not once, but twice under the same administration? What would their take be on the OBBB or the most recent Supreme Court rulings? What would they have to say about school shootings and gun safety? And my favorite question to ponder: how would they defend or reject Christian Nationalism?
Over the past few decades, the size, power, and role of the Executive Branch have dramatically increased. The United States Supreme Court is now highly involved in the management of our country. And the role of Congress seems to have shrunk. The Twenty-First Century has witnessed a struggle among the three branches of government.
I think our founding fathers would have very mixed reactions to the state of this union. They’d be pleased to see their revolution become a model for democracies around the world, and I imagine they’d be surprised that we are still here 250 years later. They’d be impressed that we’ve overcome significant global challenges. Yet they’d be troubled about how stressed our system of checks and balances is. I believe they’d be disappointed, not because of how divided we are—we’ve always been—but because we are increasingly struggling to acknowledge our shared values. That we are all Americans first. That we are countrymen and not enemies. That compromise is necessary for a healthy and thriving democracy. That diversity makes our country better.
Truthfully, we will never know what our Founding Fathers would think about AI, social media, the moon landing, or modern medicine. Nor will they ever know what it’s like to live in today’s America, where news can reach you in milliseconds and the entire world is accessible with the push of a button. But we can look to the principles they left behind to help us navigate questions they could never have imagined. We can continue to ask the important questions and improve upon this more perfect union. We must ask ourselves what liberty means today. And how do we protect one another while preserving the freedoms that define us?
Over time, questions will evolve, and we will face new situations, but the process and principles remain the same: we openly debate the primary purpose of our Republic, we challenge ideas, and we vote. And this means that our beautiful democracy is an ever-evolving ideal, shaped by each generation of Americans. At its core, democracy is about finding common ground, something we struggle with sometimes. We improve, then we fall short, then we improve again; it’s a never-ending cycle. We’ve started over and can do it again. This nation has never been defined by unanimity; it’s been defined by our willingness to pour ourselves into America’s cup of democracy.
It’s not up to the Supreme Court or Congress to write this next American chapter, and most certainly not one president. It is written by millions of everyday Americans like you who choose to hold their leaders accountable and to do the work of building a more perfect union every day.
Here’s to 250 years! Cheers to 250 more.
