
America at 250
America is celebrating its semiquincentennial in 2026. As we look forward to this anniversary, Indiana Humanities has gathered resources to support conversations in your community.
Voices and Votes
Program Details
Civics and Democracy Speakers Bureau
Indiana Humanities’ upcoming thematic initiative focuses on American history, civics, and democracy in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Over several years, we will design and support humanities programs that help Hoosiers examine America’s founding principles, the history of American democracy, how Americans play a role in our system of government, and how citizens relate to one another to build the civic fabric of our nation.
We work with humanities scholars, experts, elders, and culture-bearers to shape and lead our programs. Humanities scholars bring deep expertise and provide valuable context, and they’re also often skilled at sharing information and unlocking conversation around a big idea or shared text. Further, scholars are good at helping people become comfortable with tension and gray area, with the idea that answers are rarely “yes” or “no” but often more complex than we ever realized.
Voices and Votes
250 Meeting Series
As part of a year-long collaboration, Indiana Humanities and the Local History Services department of the Indiana Historical Society will be offering a series of conversations to help prepare Hoosier public historians, librarians, educators, and others for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. This series will be divided into two types of programs: Virtual Brown Bags and In Your Neighborhoods.
With Virtual Brown Bags, attendees will utilize their lunch breaks to listen in on moderated Zoom panels. Each conversation will cover a guiding pillar from the AASLH Making History at 250 Field Guide and ask how Hoosiers can utilize that guidance in their work leading up to 2026.
At In Your Neighborhood events, in-person visits to local historical organizations sites will encourage conversations about how engaging with the 250th can create meaningful programming in your community. While there, you will also be invited to tour the site and learn from our host museum.
SAVE THE DATE
We’ve concluded our 250 Meeting Series for 2024. Stay tuned for new events in this series in 2025!
Facilitating Conversations
We’ve collected a short list of readings and discussion questions that you can use to guide your own conversations about the 250th in your community. As you prepare to host 250th conversations, we encourage you to use texts to gather folks to discuss the big ideas that emerge from contemplating our history as a nation. Here are some big questions we’re thinking about as the 250th approaches:
- America was revolutionary in its founding, especially in its statement of the equality of all people. Was the equality stated in the Declaration achieved? In what ways does the revolution continue today?
- What big ideals were developed in the Declaration and how do they show up in your lives today? Do you feel connected to this document? Why or why not?
- How do we balance the ideal of individual freedom with the commitments we make to others when we live in community together?
- What responsibility do citizens have to their governments and to each other? What does it mean to live in a democracy, and what’s your role in it?
- How connected do you feel to the history of America? Why does knowing this history matter to our lives, families, and communities?
Request for 250th Materials
To encourage 250th anniversary programming that addresses the full sweep of our nation’s history and is relevant to present concerns, the American Association for State and Local History has developed Making History at 250: The Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial, a resource with guiding themes to help the history community prepare for 2026. Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and created with the help of dozens of leading scholars, museum professionals, and public historians, these themes can provide cohesiveness to a multi-faceted, grassroots commemoration and entry-points for organizations all over the United States.
Do you need a physical copy of the AASLH’s Making History at 250 Field Guide? Fill out the form to receive a copies of the guide mailed to you free-of-charge, while supplies last.
You can also download the full guide in English and Spanish by visiting AASLH’s website.
Partners
- Indiana Humanities
- Indiana Historical Society
- Indiana State Library
Questions
Contact Sam Opsahl, Program Associate:
sopsahl@indianahumanities.org | 317.616.3641