The plans for the 250th anniversary of the American revolution, which kicks off in earnest on July 4, have drawn media scrutiny in the US. One issue has been the subject of recurrent discussion: the role of President Donald Trump.
Behind this scrutiny is the claim that Trump is co-opting the anniversary for his own agenda. His administration’s alleged sidelining of the non-partisan “America250” commission, which was established by Congress in 2016, in favour of his rival “Freedom 250” organisation has drawn particular comment.
The 250th anniversary, it seems, has become a hotly contested battleground.
This is not entirely without precedent. As historian Michael Hattem explains in his 2024 book, The Memory of ‘76, Americans have long argued over the revolution’s lessons and legacy. This can be traced to the late 18th century, when US politics began to assume some of the adversarial qualities all too familiar today.
In the 1790s, the arguments were generally between Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists and Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans. For Federalists, who were keen to rebuild the relationship with Britain, July 4 celebrations often emphasised order and strong government.
For the Democratic-Republicans, however, the anniversary offered an opportunity to criticise what they saw as Federalist fealty to Britain. The result was that July 4 commemorations often became highly partisan.
Competing claims on July 4 recurred in subsequent decades, especially during the 1850s when sectional tensions between the north and south worsened. At the centre of these tensions was slavery.
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For the full article by Dr Sam Edwards visit the Conversation.
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