America’s 250th birthday arrives amid deep political division

Betsy Halsey still keeps her 1976 bicentennial memorabilia in a childhood bedroom in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, but she does not plan to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday. The 63-year-old retired teacher says her own feelings about President Donald Trump make it hard to separate patriotism from politics.

The semiquincentennial falls on July 4, 2026, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that two out of five Americans do not believe the United States will endure another 250 years, and one in five said they will not celebrate Independence Day this year, including about a quarter of Democrats and 8% of Republicans.

That unease is playing out as America250 tries to put together a national celebration that it describes as bipartisan and nonpartisan. The effort traces back to the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which Congress established in 2016. America250's programming runs through July 4, 2026, with a major celebration window set for July 3 to July 5 and national events including America’s Block Party on July 3 and July 4. America250's Congressional America250 Caucus now includes more than 400 Members of Congress, which it calls the largest bicameral, bipartisan caucus in U.S. history.

The politics surrounding the anniversary have also been shaped by competing public events, including a Trump-linked Fourth of July rally on the National Mall in Washington, while America250 promotes inclusion.

The bicentennial brought the Smithsonian’s twelve-week Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife, Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the United States in July 1976, and the opening of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall on July 1, 1976.