Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday

April 14, 2025—The remembrance and celebration of America’s liberation from the British Empire is now upon us. In 17 months, on July 4, 2026, we shall honor America’s 250^th birthday.

In truth, however, the 250^th anniversary of America’s battle for independence takes place on April 19, 2025, only five days from the writing of this article, for it was on April 19, 1775, that American patriots took up arms against their British oppressors at Lexington and Concord.

At Lexington, as the sun was just rising, 77 American patriots confronted 700 regular British troops, and the battle began with the “shot heard round the world.”  Eight American Patriots died at Lexington: John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker. To this day, we honor their courage and sacrifice.

As the day progressed, farmers, blacksmiths, wagon drivers and “militia men” from every walk of life rode, walked and ran to the scene of the fighting, such that by day’s end almost 4,000 colonists were engaged in driving the reenforced British force of 1,700 soldiers back to Boston.  Among the many heroes of that day were Joseph Warren, William Dawes, Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, James Barrett, John Hancock and Sam Adams.  And included in the ranks of those heroes were the 49 American patriots who lost their lives.

Thus began America’s fight for freedom, a fight whose intention would be immortalized on July 4, 1776, with the words:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . .”

An Entirely—and Revolutionary—New Species of Nation

Be very clear: —What was created on July 4, 1776, was not simply a new nation, but an entirely—and revolutionary—new species of nation, a Republic which rejected utterly the chains of oligarchical rule, which recognized that all human beings possessed “unalienable Rights.”  That all human beings are made in the image of God, —and possess creative potentials to contribute to the future advancement of human society.

How Should We Celebrate America’s 250^th Birthday?

President Trump has already announced his intention to convene a nationwide series of events to honor and celebrate America’s 250^th anniversary, and he has established the United States Semiquincentennial Commission to organize events for this celebration.  Here, we merely suggest that we incorporate in this celebration the intention of two earlier expositions from American history.

The first is the Centennial International Exhibition, held in Philadelphia in 1876 to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of American independence.  This exposition took place only eleven years after the terrible carnage of the Civil War, but this was a carnage which had finally eradicated the scourge of slavery and fulfilled the promise of the Founding Fathers that “All Men are created Equal.”  The Philadelphia Exposition was also a declaration and demonstration of the revolutionary advances in science, technology and industry that were pouring forth as result of Abraham Lincoln’s “American System” economic policies.  Hundreds of new inventions, new technologies and new machines were displayed for the first time, as American productive power was announced to the world. 

The second exposition was the Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, held to honor the 400^th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America.  Taking place at the height of the Lincoln/McKinley “protectionist era” and only three years after the adoption of the McKinley Tariff, this exposition again was a showcase for American science and manufacturing.  The entire exposition, including all the buildings and working machines, was powered and lit by George Westinghouse’s Alternating Electric Current.  Visitors were transfixed by the display; nothing like it had ever been seen before.  Standing in front of the entrance to the Exposition’s “Electricity Hall” was a life-sized statue of Benjamin Franklin.  More than 27 million American’s visited the Chicago Exposition, with 750,000 visitors on a single day in October.

Both Expositions honored America’s past and honored the principles which guide the American Republic.  But they didn’t just celebrate past accomplishments; they looked to the future.  They celebrated, through countless exhibits the ingenuity, creativity and determination of American citizens to build for the future, and they anticipated the glorious days still to come.  American citizens, working together, could create a better, more productive and happier world for generations yet unborn.

As Donald Trump has promised “America’s best days lie before us.”  Let all of us, to honor those who came before us and to benefit those who will follow us, fight to make this a reality.