America 250: All People Are Created Equal

The crowd at the March for Birmingham, 2016. Alabama. — America 250: All People Are Created Equal

In July 1776, a group of colonists gathered in Philadelphia to sign a declaration of independence, dissolving their ties to the British Crown and kickstarting what would become 250 years of an American experiment.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”
Declaration of Independence

At the National Trust, we are marking this anniversary by embracing the essential promise that “all people are created equal,” underscoring how historic places and people across the nation continue to shape our journey to becoming a more perfect union.

The lived experiences embedded in historic landscapes, homes, neighborhoods, and landmarks give us what we need to meet the next 250 years; an honest accounting of where we’ve been and the humility and courage to imagine where we can go.

Join us for a year of conversation, commemoration, and action.

A group of descendants from National Trust historic sites sitting around a table in conversation. In the back is a yellow bulletin board with various papers pinned to it.

A descendent-centered program at four National Trust Historic Sites in Virginia, events will be begin on Juneteenth, followed by a July signature event and culminating with a series of events in the fall.

To mark the 250th anniversary, the Historic Preservation Fund Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the HPF for ten years and increase its authorization to $250 million, annually.

Through a curated collection of sites across the nation, we invite visitors to discover the landscapes where Americans have grappled with questions of equality, citizenship, freedom, justice, and belonging.

America 250 Events From the National Trust

Salon 1776 at Montpelier (Orange, Virginia)

Salon 1776 at Montpelier

Montpelier launched Salon 1776, a lecture series that features a short lecture on a topic related to Montpelier and the founding-era, followed by a cocktail reception. Held in the Grand Salon in the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center, these gatherings provide an atmosphere of socially engaging education for the public in a welcoming, intimate environment. Please join us!

October: “Strength, Status, & Sport: Equestrian Lives and Labor at Montpelier” with Liz McCague, MA, ABD
November: “Fear and Faith: Witch Marks and Conjuring in 18th and 19th century Virginia” with Kelley Fanto Deetz, PhD, RPA

Justice for All

See the Full Schedule

Join the National Trust for Historic Preservation for “Justice for All,” a descendant-centered program at four National Trust Historic Sites in Virginia. This program marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence looks to reflect the central promise, that “all people are created equal.”

The events at Woodlawn, Belle Grove Plantation, Oatlands, and Montpelier will be begin on Juneteenth, followed by a July signature event at Oatlands (recordings now available), culminating with a series of events in the fall.

The Minute Man: Examining Patriotism, Victory and Loss at Chesterwood (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)

The Minute Man at Chesterwood

Chesterwood presents The Minute Man: Examining Patriotism, Victory, and Loss. Presented in the galleries of French’s recently renovated residence, the exhibition commemorates the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, bringing together works by French and his colleagues that celebrate notable Americans and address themes of loyalty, freedom, triumph, and grief.

Friends Gather Here: A Legacy of Two Communities at Woodlawn (Alexandria, Virginia)

Explore the Legacy of Two Communities

In 1846, Quaker families from Pennsylvania and New Jersey came to Woodlawn to build an antislavery community grounded in equality and nonviolence.They modeled these values through innovative farming and free labor, working alongside paid laborers to demonstrate an alternative to slavery in Virginia. There, they settled among a small free Black community already living nearby. This exhibition explores the parallel lives, shared aspirations, and evolving relationships between the Woodlawn Quakers and their free Black neighbors.

Black Voices of the Revolution: Liberty, Emancipation, and the Struggle for Independence at the Museum of African American History (Boston)

Listen to the Black Voices of the Revolution

What do you do when a country cries out for liberty—but won’t offer it to you? In the shadowed alleys and crowded docks of Revolutionary-era Boston, Black men and women—enslaved and free—listened as white colonists thundered about freedom. They heard the speeches. They read the broadsides. But they knew: the liberty being shouted from the rooftops was not meant for them. Still, they stepped forward. In this exhibition, interact with AI-driven, holographic images of primary sources, and the men and women who represented the African American community in Massachusetts during the period from the 1620s to 1800.