Initiatives marking the United States’s 250th birthday are in full swing, as Washington aims to celebrate the milestone with an avalanche of festivities.
America 250 is the official, multiyear nationwide commemoration of the semiquincentennial. It will culminate on July 4, marking the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is often described as the world’s most important document.
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“With a single sheet of parchment and 56 signatures, America began the greatest political journey in human history,” President Donald Trump said in a statement noting the semiquincentennial.
The official entity charged by Congress to lead efforts to celebrate the country’s independence is also known as America 250. The nonpartisan organization is working with several groups and high-profile figures to plan events, both leading up to July 4 and on the day itself.
America 250 formally kicked off festivities on July 3, 2025, when President Donald Trump marked the start of the semiquincentennial year with a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. In recent months, America 250 has rolled out a number of initiatives highlighting the milestone, from an American-made ornament crafted in collaboration with the White House Historical Association, to a surprise second Times Square Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve.
In addition, America 250 is seeking to engage citizens through a series of ongoing initiatives such as Our American Story, America’s Field Trip, and America Gives.
Through “Our American Story,” people can nominate a living person as an “unsung champion,” in what is being touted as “an oral and visual storytelling project aimed at collecting and preserving our nation’s stories.” America 250 is conducting a year-long, cross-country tour collecting thousands of recorded interviews through community events and other initiatives, with the goal of creating “the largest archive of American stories ever created,” according to the organization.
“America’s Field Trip” is a nationwide contest for students in grades 3-12 to answer the question “What does America mean to you?” through an essay or artwork. Two hundred fifty winners will be awarded a behind-the-scenes field trip experience at “the most iconic historic and cultural landmarks” or a cash prize.
“America Gives” is an initiative aimed at spurring volunteerism and building “the largest volunteer effort in U.S. history.” America250 is donating $1,000,000 in 2026, and those who log volunteer hours through the organization have the opportunity to be one of 250 winners to choose where the donations will go. Over 383,000 hours have been logged to date.
America 250 is led by the organization’s board, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, the Congressional America250 Caucus, and presidential honorary co-chairs.
Commission members are appointed by the House and Senate leadership of both parties, and include 16 private citizens, four U.S. Representatives, and four senators, as well as twelve “Ex Officio members” from all three branches of the federal government and its independent agencies.
The caucus includes over 350 members of Congress, making it the largest bicameral, bipartisan caucus in U.S. history, according to event planners.
The honorary co-chairs are former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as their wives — former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.
Trump is planning a UFC fight at the White House on Flag Day, which is also his birthday. The “greatest champion fighters in the world” will be featured at the event hosted by UFC CEO Dana White, according to the president.
The UFC fight is one small piece in a sweeping array of events and initiatives for the semiquincentennial sparked by Trump’s move to create a “White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday” as one of his first executive acts. Task Force 250 is a “whole of government” effort aimed at encouraging the federal, state, and local governments, along with private sector, non-profit, and educational institutions, and “every citizen across this country” to mark the country’s independence.
Task Force 250 is particularly closely aligned with Freedom 250, which was launched by Trump and has been touted as “the official public-private partnership that connects, aligns, and amplifies national and local efforts to deliver the defining presidential moments of this anniversary year.”
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Freedom 250 has already overseen some festivities, including projecting the world’s tallest birthday candle onto the Washington Monument from New Year’s Eve through January 5, and enveloping the structure in a video depicting early scenes in U.S. history, from Christopher Columbus embarking on a sea voyage to explore the New World, to Revolutionary War fighters battling the British Red Coats.
In the coming months, the organization is commemorating the milestone in a range of additional ways, including by hosting a National Prayer Gathering on the Washington Mall in May, and the “Great American State Fair at the same location in late June and early July.
On July 4, Freedom 250 is planning to cap the country’s 250th anniversary with fireworks on the Washington Mall, as Trump delivers a “major” presidential address. In addition, Freedom 250 is organizing ships and naval vessels from more than 30 countries to sail into New York Harbor as the “largest peacetime armada” in history. The Navy’s elite Blue Angels will also carry out a flyover of the maritime procession, which is set to make stops in New Orleans, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Boston before sailing into New York Harbor.
Trump has pledged to construct a new monument in the capital dedicated to the U.S.’s 250th anniversary. The “Triumphal Arch,” modeled loosely on European victory monuments, is expected to be situated near the Lincoln Memorial or Arlington National Cemetery, with construction set to begin within two months, the president revealed in late December. The president is also looking to create a “National Garden of American Heroes” in Washington’s West Potomac Park. The garden would feature 250 figures, and is set to open in July “in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” according to a federal website dedicated to the plan.
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Additionally, Trump has dedicated an entire page of the official White House website to the semiquincentennial. A video series and string of essays outline key moments that led the U.S. to declare its independence from Great Britain in 1776, including the Boston Massacre. And they commemorate the country’s early days, detailing the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and crucial battles of the Revolutionary War. Other features include a “virtual museum” tour highlighting figures such as the Founding Fathers and “Ladies of the Revolution,” and a call for renewed prayer over the country. The White House is urging 1 million Americans to dedicate one hour a week to do so, asking individuals to invite at least 10 people to join together in prayer every seven days.
Exhibits and events commemorating the milestone anniversary are ongoing across the country.
The Louisiana State Museum is hosting an exhibition of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer whose aid to the revolutionaries is viewed as critical to Washington gaining independence from Great Britain. The museum is displaying artifacts, documents, and artworks from local and national collections detailing Lafayette’s tour across the U.S. in the early 1800s, when he was hailed as an American hero and one of the only surviving commanders from the Revolution.
In Virginia, ambassadors from around the world will gather at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on June 11 to honor the global legacy of American democracy. A myriad of other events in the state include one planned in May to honor Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence.
In South Dakota, officials are planning a grand fireworks show at Mount Rushmore on July 3.
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In Michigan, the Henry Ford Museum is organizing a series of events and special exhibitions celebrating 250 years “of American innovation.”
Utah and Wyoming are among a flurry of states promoting a “nationwide potluck” of community picnics set for July 6, designed to “promote our common bonds and honor the freedoms we enjoy as Americans” through “dialogue and a shared meal.”
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