By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
By John Marks and Madeleine Rosenberg
On Friday, January 24, 2025, AASLH published the latest installment of our “250 and Beyond” monthly member newsletter, exploring how the incoming Trump administration might shift the landscape of the 250th anniversary commemoration. Since that time, President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders directly related to commemoration, public engagement with history, and the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026. We wanted to take this opportunity to share the full text of that newsletter more widely (you can find it below) and also to offer some additional commentary on how we’re interpreting the recent executive orders.
The first, an executive order titled “Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary,” seeks to ensure that the Semiquincentennial will feature a “grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion” and that it will appropriately “honor the history of our great nation.” Specifically, the order establishes a new body, Task Force 250, to coordinate anniversary plans among executive branch agencies. It also reinstates an earlier executive order exploring the creation of a “National Garden of American Heroes” featuring statues of 250 notable Americans.
The second order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling,” also has implications for the commemoration of the 250th. Ostensibly, the order demands a return to “patriotic education” in American schools. More broadly, however, it makes clear the administration’s narrow view of what American history should include and the very purpose of learning it. The order seeks to “instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation” in American students. While the mandate clarifies that “patriotic education” is defined by “accurate, honest” history, it also includes other contradictory language, demanding that history education be “unifying, inspiring, and ennobling.” The order defines “patriotic education” as a system grounded in “a clear examination of how the United States has grown admirably closer to its noble principles throughout its history” and in “the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper.” Finally, the executive order also revives the 1776 Commission, first established late in President Trump’s first term and later disbanded by President Joe Biden. The Commission is tasked with spreading this version of patriotic history through awards, public programs, and other means.
The practical implications of these two executive orders are not yet clear. We still are not sure, for example, how Task Force 250 will relate to the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission created by Congress in 2016, with which the task force overlaps in significant ways. It’s also unclear how some of the mandates in the two orders will be implemented and funded. We are watching the orders closely to understand their potential implications for our members and the history field at large.
More broadly, however, these recent actions reveal that the administration remains highly invested in the symbolic power of the Semiquincentennial, while also holding a very limited vision of what American history is and how it should be commemorated and taught. By defining patriotism only as the celebration of American greatness, the administration effectively prohibits learning about our nation’s whole history and grappling with the complex, ambiguous nature of the past. This approach to history prevents Americans from developing or exercising critical thinking skills, assessing all the available evidence of our national past, and from coming together in a more widely shared understanding of our nation’s history. It limits our ability to use the past to understand our present and make progress toward a better future.
Ultimately, though, these executive orders do not change the fact that the 250th anniversary remains a once-in-a-generation opportunity to spark engagement with the full sweep of American history and to revitalize our field and its institutions. This anniversary was always going to be marked by grassroots efforts, and it is now more important than ever that history organizations across the country leverage the 250th to fully explore the nation’s history with and for the communities they serve. Americans have always disagreed about interpretations and legacies of the past, and we don’t expect that to stop now. By focusing on serving local communities’ needs and staying aligned with fieldwide best practices, history organizations can still use the 250th to revitalize civic life and productive public discourse, promote a more widely shared, evidence-based understanding of history that embraces complexity, and prove their worth as vital community institutions. We look forward to continuing to work with you in the months ahead to fully take advantage of the opportunity this anniversary offers our field and our nation.
You can find the original newsletter below. If you’d like to continue receiving analysis like this directly to your inbox, please become a member of AASLH. Your support helps support advocacy, research, and our continued leadership of 250th anniversary initiatives.
-John Marks and Madeleine Rosenberg
Preparing for the Year Ahead
First published January 24, 2025.
By Madeleine Rosenberg and John Marks
Now that the calendar has turned to 2025, we find ourselves in the final full year of planning for the U.S. Semiquincentennial. A wave of program announcements and planning activities is steadily increasing public awareness of the nation’s 250th anniversary. What was once a low-profile initiative is becoming a more visible public concern—and in the process, exposing diverging interpretations of what this milestone represents. For museums, historic sites, and related institutions, the challenge ahead of us will be to navigate these tensions thoughtfully, leveraging exhibits, programs, events, and other initiatives to foster greater understanding rather than deepen divides.
The countdown to 2026 is moving quickly. In some ways, the anniversary has already begun. New England commemorated the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in December 2023. In less than three months, on April 19, 2025, the nation will observe the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first major military conflict of the American Revolution. These events, along with other milestones leading up to July 4, 2026, will arrive in rapid succession, underscoring how short our remaining time to plan really is.
Momentum Builds for the 250th
Planning has accelerated in recent months, with an exciting array of announcements and initiatives growing the public profile of this anniversary. Every U.S. state and territory now has a commission dedicated to leading the commemoration—a significant milestone years in the making. Many of these commissions have launched public awareness campaigns to draw attention to the anniversary. For example, Colorado, Georgia, and Illinois have recently initiated more public phases of their 250 planning. In New Hampshire, New Jersey, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and elsewhere, state leaders have introduced new 250th anniversary commemorative license plates. In addition to ongoing preservation initiatives, grant programs, exhibits, and other history programs, these recent developments reflect a greater public presence for the 250th.
Activity extends to the local level as well. America250 (as the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission is mostly known) has partnered with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to encourage city and municipal engagement in the commemoration. Collectively, these efforts signal growing momentum to ensure the Semiquincentennial resonates at every level of American life.
New Administration’s Focus on the 250th
The incoming administration of President Donald Trump has also displayed an interest in this anniversary, which should come as little surprise. During his first term, Trump demonstrated a strong affinity for the symbolism of Independence Day, most notably through the 2019 “Salute to America” event on the National Mall. During his remarks at the event—the first time in decades that a President delivered a Fourth of July address on the Mall—he celebrated the nation’s military strength and commitment to liberty. He also gave a speech the following year at Mount Rushmore on July 4, 2020, where he harshly criticized emerging efforts to reckon with the injustices of the American past.
Fittingly then, it is Trump who has paid more attention to the 250th than any other president or presidential candidate. Early in his 2023 campaign, Trump outlined a vision for the anniversary centered on celebratory events, including a “Great American State Fair,” a national high school athletics competition dubbed “Patriot Games,” and a proposed “Garden of Heroes” honoring notable Americans. Following his 2024 election victory, Trump has doubled down on these ideas, linking them to broader policy priorities such as the establishment of a “Department of Government Efficiency,” which he tasked with delivering results by July 4, 2026—and framed as a “gift” to the country on its 250th birthday.
While Trump’s vision for the Semiquincentennial differs from the one championed by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission—they have declared a goal of organizing “the largest and most inclusive” commemoration in American history—his interest in making the 250th a focal point of his administration underscores the political and cultural weight of this milestone.
Diverging Visions for the Anniversary
Elsewhere, we are seeing an increase in programs and commentary that frame the 250th as a celebration of American greatness. Some of these initiatives offer intellectually rigorous, if more traditionally conservative, narratives of the founding and its legacies. Others, however, advocate a narrower approach, rejecting critical examinations of the past in favor of unambiguous celebration. These more traditionally patriotic approaches, though long anticipated, clash with many commemoration efforts led by public history institutions, which emphasize a more measured approach to examining the triumphs, failures, and ambiguous legacies of our national past.
Yet, although these differing approaches are only just beginning to surface, they reflect longstanding debates in American history. As historian Michael Hattem has observed, disagreements over the legacy of the American Revolution began before the war even ended. Major commemorations, which come around each half-century, have always involved debates about which aspects of the nation’s history to highlight and how to present them.
The 1976 Bicentennial offers a particularly instructive example. While federal efforts at the time emphasized celebratory programming, grassroots organizations such as the People’s Bicentennial Commission pushed for a more community-driven commemoration. That approach ultimately prevailed, with local initiatives flourishing and resulting in enduring legacies, including the establishment of thousands of new museums, genealogical projects, and preservation initiatives. That era also saw less heralded but equally important developments, like the establishment of many state humanities councils and what is now the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
These historical precedents remind us that, even amid disagreements, major anniversaries can still foster meaningful and lasting contributions to the field of public history.
Make Your Voice Heard
Naturally, many of the colleagues we’ve spoken with in recent months have expressed deep uncertainty about how the next year may unfold during the lead-up to the 250th. We’ll reiterate here what we have expressed in other conversations: the Semiquincentennial will still be what we—our institutions and our communities—make it. The grassroots nature of the Semiquincentennial has always been its greatest strength. If we hope this anniversary will encourage Americans to engage with the American past in all of its depth and complexity and if we want to share stories that represent everyone in communities across the country, then the contributions of individual museums, historical societies, and related institutions will be essential to achieving those goals.
The 250th anniversary offers a unique opportunity to deepen people’s appreciation for history. By organizing thoughtful programs and exhibits aligned with field-wide best practices—and by inviting the public into the historical process—we can help Americans gain, develop, and enhance their critical thinking skills, offering them opportunities to engage with the messy, ambiguous questions we must ask about our history. With institutions of all types, sizes, and locations participating, our field can ensure that Americans encounter a broad and complete understanding of local, state, and national history in 2026.
We continue to believe there is room in this anniversary for a wide range of historical narratives and perspectives to exist side by side. Americans have always disagreed about fundamental questions about the nation and its history; it’s often by exploring those disagreements that we come to learn the most. Ultimately, it is only through broad, grassroots participation that the Semiquincentennial will feature a truly complete story. As always, AASLH stands ready to support our members as they navigate this historic opportunity. Let’s move forward together.
Reminder: Registration is open for “250 Con,” the first and only national, virtual gathering to learn about major 250 initiatives and explore how your institution can fit in. Early bird pricing ends February 14, so register today!
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