If you stared at your calendar on New Year’s Day with a sudden awareness that the date, 2026, seemed familiar and somewhat significant, then prepare yourself for a year of celebrations and commemorations that focus on our historic past — the shining moments and the darkest clouds — and its lasting legacy. If you are also old enough to remember the Bicentennial Commemoration in 1976, chances are you never considered that you might be engaged in a 250th birthday party for the United States of America 50 years later. After all, who in their teens or twenties envisions themselves in their seventies or eighties? Even your fifties seem so distant…

Truthfully, the days are often long but the years have sped by, and here we are, ready to blow out those 250 candles and sing a rousing stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

You might be surprised to know that the United States began planning for this commemoration in 2016 with the appointment of a nonpartisan commission chaired by former Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios. Charged with designing the largest anniversary observation in the nation’s history by engaging Americans from across the country and its territories — highlighted by spectacular Fourth of July events — America 250 has multiple goals. From showcasing the rich tapestry of our nation’s history, to stories of our patriots and their courage and enduring strength, to inspiring service in local communities and sparking a recommitment to the ideals of our nation’s founding, America 250 will celebrate the heritage and promise of this republic. From Washington, DC, to the smallest of towns and villages, prepare for the bells of liberty, equality, and justice to ring out across the nation.

In preparation for this year of remembrance and purposeful planning for the future, today begins the first of 25 markers (stories) recalling the events that led to the original celebration on July 4, 1776.

Why did the English colonies change from loyal subjects of the English King and Parliament to rebellious colonists who were willing to risk their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to create a new country and government based on the will of the people? Were the colonists united in that movement? How did the differences escalate so swiftly into the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a subsequent military rebellion? Or was the American Revolution a spontaneous decision by a rash Second Continental Congress?

The stories of those years from 1756 to 1776 and beyond will offer some clarity and understanding. Truthfully, they are exciting and equally frightening moments in our nation’s history. So, strap in and prepare for a wild ride through our formative years — all the bells, bugles, and whistles along with war cries, battle sounds, and the silence of death, despair, and prayerful celebration — as we plan those America 250 moments.

Let’s step back to the beginning. We sometimes forget that the original 13 colonies were founded over a period of 128 years and that there were vast differences that involved more than just geographic location and uncommon economic systems. Virginia, founded in 1607, was a royal colony, named for the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth I who had presided over England’s Golden Age, while Georgia, chartered in 1735 as the last of the colonies, was a proprietary colony managed by James Oglethorpe, originally as a debtors’ state. Several practiced religious freedoms for designated groups, while others were much more restrictive in their practices, resulting in divisions in communities and the ultimate settlement of Rhode Island and Connecticut. There was no “one size fits all” when it came to the English colonies.

And yet, some event — or a series of events — resulted in 13 disparate colonies joining together to sever ties with the most powerful global power of the 18th century.

The French and Indian War would be the powder keg that, once ignited, spread from New England across the Middle Atlantic colonies to the South.

See you next week as we strike a match.