How to do a 250: Looking ahead to a 2026 birthday party
Sunday Breakfast Club's December program delved into how an America of the future might remember and interpret the America of the past.
Four people deeply involved in planning Philadelphia's - and America's ... and the world's - 2026 observance of the nation's 250th anniversary birthday discussed how they're planning to make a time long-ago come alive, in all its light and shadows, for our modern world.
The panelists were:
Patrick Spero, librarian and director of the American Philosophical Society.
Danielle DiLeo Kim, executive director of Philadelphia 250
Nancy Moses, chair of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
R. Scott Stephenson, CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution in Old City.
The event at the Pyramid Club was attended by about 85 club members and guests.
The panelists first laid out the particular initiatives for the 250th that they are leading. They then held an animated discussion about how to celebrate the nation's founding in an inclusive way, while fostering a candid discussion about the ways our country still struggles to live up to the ideals proclaimed in the soaring opening words of the Declaration of Independence.
Spero spoke about his work to launch The Revolutionary City, a digitized archive of thousands upon thousands of pages of source materials - diaries, letters, notes, broadsides - from the period of revolutionary ferment. The materials come from the Ben Franklin-founded APS and other institutions.
"Our goal is to assert that Philadelphia is THE revolutionary city," Spero said. "When I look at public history as a historian, Boston claims to be THE revolutionary city but the truth is, the revolution ends in Boston in 1776 when the British evacuate. That’s the end of their revolution. They aren’t the city of the revolution, Philadelphia is. We can say Philadelphia experienced the revolution more than any other place in the U.S.. Aside from the fact that we had the Continental Congress here, and it’s where the Declaration was written, this was a divided city, split between conservatives, moderates and radicals. It had a strong element of pacifism in it, too. All of these groups were contesting and debating these issues."
In a division of labor that hasn't always been smooth, three separate entities - one federal, one state, one local - have been set up to plan events and activities around the 250th. DiLeo Kim leads the local one, Philadelphia250.
Its motto, she said, is "By the people, for the people," speaking to its goal of inspiring an inclusive and transformational 250th around Philadelphia in 2026.
"These major events happen only once every 50 years or so, meaning that the 250th is a once in a generation opportunity," she said. "How do we make sure the diversity of the city, the diversity of the people and the places get centered in that? That’s our challenge."
A main thrust for the organization is its Leave a Legacy program, which is inviting community organizations to propose ideas, programs, exhibitions or initiatives that would explore that given community's connection to and feelings about the nation's founding ideals. Philadelphia 250 is giving seed money to help groups develop ideas and will help the winning proposals seek full funding to execute the vision.
Nancy Moses of the state commission noted that Revolutionary history didn't happen just inside Philadelphia, but also around the region (e.g. Valley Forge and Brandywine) and across the Commonwealth (which was formed in Philadelphia in 1776).
"The 250th is a real challenge because we believe it celebrates a revolutionary moment, a war and more importantly, it celebrates big ideas," Moses said. "It celebrates the values that are embedded in our society. And we believe it’s important to learn more about those values and to foster discussion around them."
One big project the commission is overseeing is a major renovation of the State Museum, which sits next to the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Another is a new textbook on Pennsylvania history.
Stephenson's museum is fairly new, having opened in 2017, so it has in essence been planning for 2026 since its first day of operation.
"We uncover and share compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experience," he said. “We distinguish between the Revolutionary War, which ended at Yorktown, and the American Revolution, which is a longer and hopefully a continuing process of forming a more perfect union and instilling and upholding those values that have been an inspiration for people around the world.”
The museum shares a goal of The Revolutionary City (with which it is partnering): To raise up the stories of Americans who might have been ignored during the Bicentennial celebration 50 years, such as the Fortins, a leading Black family of Philadelphia. James Fortin heard the first reading of the Declaration in Philadelphia and fought as a teen in the Colonial navy; his daughters were leading abolitionists in Philadelphia.
As the world comes to Philadelphia in 2026, the year will not just be about history and its complexity. The city will be a FIFA World Cup site, hosting as many as six games and welcoming people from the world over - in July of that year. The MLB All-Star game will happen at Citizens Bank Park, also in July. The logistical challenges will be huge, as will the impact on Philadelphia's global image. Between the pandemic and some turmoil at the national 250th organization, the panelists acknowledged that planning is a bit behind schedule but everyone is now racing to catch up.
The panelists had a nuanced discussion of the debate over whether to call the 250th a celebration, a commemoration or just an observance. The latter choice would be in deference to the pained or conflicted feelings of Black or Native Americans for whom memories of that historical period are shadowed by persecution and exclusion.
"We're very intentional about the language we use," DiLeo Kim said. "The founding of the country was also the disruption of Native Americans who were living on this land. We’re committed to having an indigenous voice in this 250th Anniversary." She added that one of the Leave a Legacy proposals would create a center for indigenous Americans in Philadelphia.
"Celebration, commemoration and observance don’t have to be mutually exclusive," Spero said. "Look, we’ve got a whole year for this and that leaves room for us to do all that. We have to emphasize we are going to do all three. As a historian, I go back to the sources. What are the sources telling you? That’s what The Revolutionary City wants to do. We want to elevate all the voices in Philadelphia that experienced this revolution and what it meant to them. We have diaries of women, of slaves and free people, accounts of men who enlisted in the militia and for what reasons."
“History isn't stagnant, since every generation interprets history differently," Moses said. "As someone leading a state commission, I can tell you that some of the discussions and the values that, around Philadelphia, we take for granted that everybody shares, everybody does not share. There are very different views about history, who owns history, what stories should be told, how those stories should be told. When we talk about inclusion and honoring all viewpoints, we’re trying very hard to keep our hearts and minds open to many different dialogues, while doing what we can inform people so they know the difference between history and something that’s not history.”
Stephenson added, “Navigating this complexity, as one of our board members said, is like dancing between the raindrops. In developing the museum, we wanted to do a warts-and-all approach. We don’t shy away from hard topics. We try to think of the American Revolution as a transformation story that isn't by any means over. You can acknowledge all the terrible things that have happened, all the injustices, even continuing injustices, but you can still sign on to be a revolutionary who holds a sense of pride and optimism and hope for the future. We’re on a path together."