The colonials had been alerted throughout the nighttime hours by the famed midnight ride of Paul Revere and his associate William Dawes (great-great-grandfather of Illinoisan Charles Dawes who was sworn in as Vice President of the United States one hundred years ago this month). They had gathered on the town green of Lexington, placing them between the advancing redcoats and their objective at Concord.
Shots were fired, and a running battle began, traveling all the way up the road to Concord, where more citizen-soldiers, known as Minutemen, waited. What happened next was permanently enshrined in history by the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson,
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard ‘round the world.
It was the beginning of the American Revolution.
Today, a quarter of a millennium later, when a small collection of colonies has evolved and grown into the greatest nation in the world, a celebration unlike any other in American history is about to get underway, as the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday.
The official celebration of America 250 is set for 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but planning is already happening, and several commemorative events are scheduled for this year.
Leading one part of the celebration in Illinois is the Peoria Riverfront Museum. In coordination with filmmaker Ken Burns, the PRM will host several events beginning this fall. Burns, perhaps best known for his PBS films on the American Civil War, baseball, the national parks and many others, will debut another film on the Revolution this fall.
The events in Peoria will include the display of a 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence and other rare exhibits from American and Illinois history. Among these are Abraham Lincoln documents, the history of the indigenous people of the Illinois River valley, and the Great Migration of the 1920s.
Peoria is one of many Illinois locales planning a celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday (also known as a semi-quincentennial).
Next summer the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will conduct special performances to “honor the nation’s rich and evolving cultural landscape.” The Chicago History Museum is inviting “visual artists to submit a proposal to create an original work for display in the museum as it marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.”
The Illinois State Museum in Springfield is part of the state’s Illinois America 250 Commission, founded three years ago to “develop, encourage, and execute an inclusive commemoration and observance of the founding of the United States of America, and Illinois’ imperative role in the nation’s history.”
The state’s commission is encouraging “people and organizations around the state to make meaning of this anniversary in their own way,” through local events and celebrations.
Illinois is coordinating its events with humanities organizations throughout the state, such as libraries and history centers, as well as heritage sites, schools and universities.
By coincidence, the America 250 celebrations will occur alongside the centennial celebration of one of America’s (and Illinois’) most iconic features, historic Route 66.
Throughout the state, and the nation, the next 16 months are shaping up to be a time of great historical significance and celebration.
Connect with the state’s 250th commission.