David T. Slatery, Acting Executive Director
This essay was written as part of Mass Humanities’ “People’s Guide to the Revolution” initiative for 2026.
The year 2026 is not only the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but it is also the 5oth anniversary of the 1976 Bicentennial. Since I lived through, participated in, and even enjoyed the events of that 200th celebration, I thought I’d ruminate on the differences between now and a half century ago.
A time of unpopular war, lack of faith in institutions, divisive politics, impeachment, rocketing gas prices – no, not today but the mid-1970s. Vietnam, Watergate, the Nixon resignation, oil embargos, the generation gap were all the cause of occasional angry arguments at my grandparents’ family Sunday dinners.
I was a 14-year-old junior high school student during the Bicentennial and was in the Boy Scouts with my good friends. We were fascinated by historical monuments and tried to imitate them (see the photo above of our efforts) and each year I proudly marched, with my Jim Morrison style hair and flared jeans, in the Independence Day Parade in my suburban Pittsburgh community.
My memory of Bicentennial celebration was that it was very present in ordinary life. For years, there were “Bicentennial Minutes” on television every night, “200 Years Ago Today” sections of newspapers, numerous special units in school, and an unbelievable orgy of red, white, and blue marketing—Uncle Sams, flags, and revolutionary iconography everywhere.
Today great efforts have been made to celebrate our nation’s 250th—the Boston Pops and fireworks, reenactments and commemorations of the many events that happened in the American Revolution, thoughtful projects put on by cultural organizations, and of course the many local celebrations in 250+ year-old communities.
However, these lack the all-encompassing nature of the Bicentennial experience. It would be easy to blame it on the current political situation but as I alluded above, things weren’t all that different 50 years ago. Maybe the feeling was that back then we were emerging from a particularly ugly time and now, we might still feel we are in one.
So I wonder if we should all look inward and ponder why we are celebrating this event. Perhaps the Bicentennial was more of an excuse for a big birthday bash after a tough time and largely didn’t focus as clearly on all the implications or much beyond the nation’s white population.
Today, the approach is more thoughtful, and a much greater effort has been made to include the stories of Native and Indigenous populations, People of Color, and others alongside the narrative, focusing not only on what happened in 1776, but also on what has resulted since.
The current effort toward a deeper reflection perhaps does not lend itself as well to mass marketing but maybe to greater insight and understanding.
There are a huge number of organizations, artists, culture bearers, and humanities professionals in this state who can really bring a lot to bear in thinking about the 250th. Please go see a play, tour a museum or gallery, visit a local historic society or site, and take advantage of the many opportunities that Massachusetts can rightfully boast about. It doesn’t have to be about the anniversary theme, but maybe you can be reminded that what happened then resulted in what we’re doing now and lead you into a fascinating reflection.
I know not what course others may take, but I feel like going out and taking in some monuments.