To match the current distaste for ‘made in Washington’ uniformity, this Commission has consciously severed itself from the federal government, serving instead as a bridge between the public and private sectors. 4875, The United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016, nonetheless declared that 1776’s events “(1) are of major significance in the development of the national heritage of the United States of individual liberty, representative government, and the attainment of equal and inalienable rights” and “(2) have had a profound influence throughout the world.” All the while, The New York Times’s “ 1619 Project” has called, to mixed reception, to trace American’s origins before 1776 to 1619 when the first enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia. Indeed, one of President Trump’s last acts in office was to rekindle calls for “patriotic education” through his own 1776 Commission. In 2021 the mere number “1776” adorned numerous flags during the January 6 th Capitol riots and has become a slogan in campaigns against critical race theory. 1776, however, has lost little of its political force, particularly within nationalist rhetoric.
Semiquincentennial, Sestercentennial, Quarter Millennium or Bicenquinquagenary even the naming is convoluted, meaning most commemorative content now favours the more readily franchisable America250. Following the conclusion of the celebration’s “planning” phase this past July, most Americans could still be forgiven for asking ‘Semiquincentennial, what Semiquincentennial?” After all, a survey ran recently by the commemoration’s own planning body found that only 1 percent of Americans had heard about the event. Yet America appears to be approaching its 2026 Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, with a policy of reluctance, if not benign neglect. It has been commonly quipped that growing old is not bad when one considers the alternative. This disconnectedness, he argues, risks creating a vacuum in which current politicians may push their own partisan values and narratives. Thomas Cryer looks at the work of the US Semiquincentennial Commission ahead of the anniversary, writing that the planned ‘America250’ celebrations are unconnected, and tend to compartmentalise American history rather than evoking a straightforward national narrative. On July 4th, 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary.