By Steven Woolley
The Declaration of Independence will mark its 250th anniversary next year. No doubt, we’ll be swept up in a flurry of ceremonies and events commemorating everything from the first landing of British colonists at Jamestown to the final battle of the War for Independence at Yorktown.
At the heart of it all lies Williamsburg, once the colonial capital where fiery speeches helped ignite revolution and citizen-legislators proposed laws for a new kind of democracy. Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg form what’s known as the Historic Triangle—the birthplace of what would become the United States of America.
July 4, 2026 will be the signature moment, a time to reflect on what it meant to declare independence from British tyrannical monarchy and to strike out on our own, attempting to build a nation grounded in the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In ’76 no one quite knew what shape this new government would take—only that, as Lincoln later put it, it would be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
But July 2026 will not arrive in a vacuum. It will unfold in the midst of midterm election campaigning, the outcome of which may decide whether we have surrendered the blood and toil of 1776 to submit once again to authoritarian rule. On the other hand, perhaps the words of Jefferson, the speeches of Patrick Henry and Sam Adams, and the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin will rekindle the revolutionary spark—one that could elect a new Congress dedicated to the democracy for which so many lives have been sacrificed over the last 250 years.
The Historic Triangle draws thousands of visitors each year to its colonial sites, battlefields, and museums, where they hear stories of pre-colonial Indigenous cultures, the arrival of British settlers in 1607, and the final days of the Revolution in 1781. Have they been informed—or merely entertained? I’m never quite sure. But 2026 will be different.
Predictions suggest that visitor numbers will double around the July 4 holiday. May it be a time when our passion for democratic liberty is reignited, when we stand fearlessly against the looming powers of tyranny that threaten to enslave us once again.
Indeed, by next year, tyranny may no longer be a threat. It may be a reality. That is the direction we appear to be heading under the Trump administration.
In the pattern of his predecessor, mad King George III, against whose tyranny we fought for our independence and freedom:
- He has burdened us and our descendants with massive debt to further enrich the already wealthy.
- He has imposed a national sales tax on imported goods without our representation in the legislature.
- He has conspired to restrict the freedom of the press with a stream of meritless lawsuits and threats.
- He has deployed the military in Los Angeles to intimidate protests against the widespread arrests of presumed illegal immigrants without due process.
- He has used law enforcement agencies as tools of coercion and retribution.
- He has deprived persons of their right to due process.
- He has conspired to establish immunity for himself from prosecution for crimes and misdemeanors.
- He has conspired to restrict what schools may teach and what we may learn.
- He has sought to replace historical truth with propaganda masquerading as fact.
It will take courage not only to resist tyranny but also to stand for the government we want—a government rooted in democratic liberty, animated by civic responsibility, and dedicated to preserving individual freedom for the common good, embracing every person of every sort and condition.
Nice piece, Steve, nice echoes of the original Declaration.