OK, it was better because I was 19 years old and care-free, a college student home on summer break. For a summer job, I was building swimming pools with a crew of childhood friends, and on weekends in June and July, we were hustling at Bicentennial festivals and parades around my home state of Connecticut. There are 169 towns and cities in Connecticut, and most of them had some kind of bicentennial celebration. What my crew did was load up on American flags, bicentennial banners, horns, and helium balloons, put them in a barrel in a baby carriage, and cruise the celebrating streets and parks selling our wares. Business was good. From this vantage point, I observed the mood in my state and my nation, and it seemed like we were all in this thing together. We partied like it was 1976. It doesn’t feel as good this year, and not just because I’m 69 now.
America’s 1976 Bicentennial celebration and the current 250th celebration reflect two very different moments in the nation’s history, in terms of national mood, political environment, and the way the celebrations have been organized. The Bicentennial emerged from a desire to rebuild unity after national trauma, while the 250th has developed during a period of intense polarization, with greater tension over who controls the meaning and presentation of American history.
The 1976 Bicentennial came after one of the most turbulent periods in modern American history. The country was still processing the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Confidence in government had been damaged, and many Americans were distrustful of Washington. Yet the Bicentennial became an effort to restore civic pride without pretending that the nation’s history was perfect. It emphasized the idea that America was a continuing experiment — one that could acknowledge its failures while still celebrating its democratic ideals. The Bicentennial was a unifying time, and I could feel it then.
A major reason the Bicentennial succeeded was its bipartisan and decentralized structure. Congress created the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, but the commission was designed primarily as a coordinating body rather than a political command center. It brought together members from both parties and worked to encourage participation by states, cities, schools, historical groups, and civic organizations. The commission provided a national framework, resources, and recognition, while leaving communities significant authority to determine how they would participate.
This structure empowered local and state actors. Governors, mayors, local committees, museums, veterans’ groups, churches, schools, and neighborhood organizations developed their own events. Communities restored historic landmarks, organized parades, created educational programs, held festivals, and built projects that reflected their own histories. The result was that the Bicentennial felt less like a government production and more like a nationwide civic movement. Washington provided coordination; Americans across the country supplied the energy and imagination.
The political leadership of the time reinforced that spirit. President Gerald Ford, a Republican, supported the Bicentennial, while Democrats and Republicans generally treated it as a shared national occasion rather than a partisan opportunity. The anniversary was not framed as belonging to one administration or one ideology. The focus was on the endurance of the American constitutional system, not on the political interests of whoever occupied the White House.
The planning of the 250th anniversary initially followed a similar philosophy. A bipartisan organization, the United States Semiquincentennial Commission (aka, America 250), was created by Congress in 2016 to coordinate the anniversary. Like the Bicentennial model, it was intended to represent the country broadly and to bring together public officials, historians, civic leaders, and private citizens. Its purpose was to ensure that the 250th would belong to the entire nation rather than to any one political party or administration.
However, the approach changed when President Donald Trump established a separate White House-run organization, Freedom 250, in January 2025. Rather than relying solely on the bipartisan commission created through Congress, the administration created a parallel structure tied directly to the presidency, and siphoned off most of the $150 million in appropriated funds for the celebration. The effect was to shift the center of gravity away from a broadly representative commission and toward the executive branch.
That change created controversy because national anniversaries traditionally carry symbolic importance beyond any individual president. A White House-controlled celebration naturally becomes associated with the sitting administration, and during a period of extreme political division, even a patriotic commemoration can become interpreted through a partisan lens. President Trump has undermined the original bipartisan framework and turned this shared national milestone into an extension of his political brand. I can’t blame some of the musical acts for not wanting to participate. Of course, MAGA fans took solace in the replacement act of President Trump himself taking the stage of the opening Freedom 250 event, inspiring the country with his usual campaign-style speech listing his many accomplishments and telling us how “hot” we are as a nation under his leadership.
This is typical Trump, seeking to centralize authority and place his personal leadership at the center of institutions traditionally designed to operate through broader coalitions. Unfortunately for us and the country, Trump’s penchant for replacing or competing with bipartisan structures is consistent with a pattern of viewing independent or shared institutions as obstacles rather than partners.
The contrast is especially clear in the relationship between Washington and local communities. The 1976 Bicentennial model assumed that ordinary Americans and local institutions were the heart of the celebration. The federal government encouraged participation but largely trusted communities to shape their own commemorations. The 250th has placed more emphasis on centralized planning and national direction, creating tension with those who believe the anniversary should be driven from the bottom up.
The lesson of 1976 is that national celebrations often work best when Washington provides support but communities provide ownership. A commemoration of the United States’ founding may be strongest when it feels like it belongs not to a president, a party, or a political movement — but to the people themselves.
As for me, ah, to be 19 again, and carefree. Yes, the Bicentennial was better.
Happy 4th of July everybody!
Waipahu Bob 