07/04/2026
What a story.
The Declaration of Independence began an audacious experiment. Washington’s farewell in 1796 — relinquishing power and setting the democratic precedent of peaceful transition — would define this nation for generations. The Emancipation Proclamation freed a people in 1863, followed by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments from 1865 to 1870, which abolished slavery, established national citizenship, and prohibited race-based voter suppression, fundamentally rewriting the constitutional promise of America.
Women’s Suffrage and the 19th Amendment, ratified in the summer of 1920, extended full citizenship and democratic participation to half the nation — our mothers!
FDR’s Four Freedoms Speech in 1941 articulated the moral purpose of American democracy — freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear — helping to shape the postwar human rights movement. Then came the Allied victory in World War II. The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of 1965 turned MLK’s “I Have a Dream” into law, with President Lyndon Johnson signing them knowing they would cost his party the South for a generation. It was a moment of political courage rarely seen before or since.
JFK, a moonwalk, Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech, September 11th, 2001 — in this modern era, it seems we have always reached for what’s possible among the stars and faced tragedy in unity. And in 2008, with the election of Barack Obama, the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office, our country took another step toward becoming a more perfect union.
These were all historic moments — filled with tragedy, triumph, and grace. What unites them is not perfection. What unites them is the difficult work of closing the gap between the ideals of 1776 and the lived reality of our diverse nation, founded by and built by our immigrant ancestors.
Old Orchard Creek Farm, this land, has been here through all these generations. And today we celebrate our nation’s history that’s still being written.
Happy 250th! 🇺🇸
Let’s continue to write our story, together. We are better together.
Red. White. And BLUEberry! 🫐
