On the Fourth of July, which celebration will you choose: the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the “Trump Rally” with a keynote address by the President? Each offers its own series of events leading up to July fourth: America250 or Freedom 250.
One is the plan to “encourage, develop, and coordinate” the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This is the task of the Congressional U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission that was established by law in 2016. Highlights of America250 include a writing contest for students to answer “What does America mean to you?” with 250 participants to win trips to historical sites. The Commission will include a goal for record-setting volunteer service and the establishment of July 4 as a new national day of charitable giving. In addition, the Commission is planning to bury a time capsule to be opened on America’s 500th birthday in 2276.
This plan is in contrast to President Trump’s Freedom 250 plan that includes hosting a UFC fight on the White House lawn and an athletic competition for high school students. The Congressional committee is focusing on U.S. history and civil society whereas Freedom 250 focuses on President Trump’s favorite things.
The Congressional America250 Commission features civic pride and duty with the call to care for others through charity and volunteerism. These are all components of an effective democracy and consistent with the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [sic] 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.”
Professor Danielle Allen, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, told the School of Education in 2020, “We have really disinvested in civic education and social studies … We have really ceased to lay the foundation in K–12 for young people to understand democracy, be motivated to participate in it, to have the skills and tools they need to participate effectively, and as a result, enjoy participation.” Between 2018 and 2022, less than a quarter of eighth graders were at or above the proficient level in civics.
Often called “the father of American education,” Horace Mann argued that free, standardized schooling was key to self-governance, calling education the “great equalizer of the conditions of men [sic].” A curriculum emphasizing the understanding of civics was core to that argument. Up until the 1960s, American high schools required up to three courses in government and civics but those offerings dwindled in the last half century.
Perhaps this year’s the Fourth of July celebration will be the impetus to make the study of civics an important part of every student’s education. In 2002, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights declared the following as essential elements of democracy: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, freedom of association, freedom of expression and opinion, access to power and its exercise in accordance with the rule of law, the holding of periodic free and fair elections by universal suffrage and by secret ballot as the expression of the will of the people, a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations, the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, transparency and accountability in public administration and a free, independent and pluralistic media. These essentials elements of democracy could be the guideline for a civics curriculum.
The next 250 years of an effective democracy, where the citizens strive for a more perfect union, will contain these elements. Citizens may launch these next 25 decades, not with UFC fights and a self-aggrandizement keynote speech, but with the July Fourth celebration of the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence and its continuation into the future. It is the initiative of the U.S. Congress. It is the vision worth celebrating! It’s the Fourth of July event that I choose.
John Buttrick writes from his Vermont Folk Rocker in his Concord home, Minds Crossing. He can be reached at johndbuttrick@gmail.com.