Delegates from 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, and the United States of America was born. This summer, the nation turns 250 years old, a historic event known as the semiquincentennial. It’s a chance to celebrate but also “to look forward and imagine what we want our coming years to look like and who we want to be,” says Megan Smith of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
The fact that the U.S. has lasted this long would probably surprise George Washington. “When the American Revolution began, a democratic nation without a monarch was rare,” says Will Bangs, an American history teacher in New York City. But survive it did—and how the country has changed! Back in 1776, the most populous state was Virginia. Today it’s California, with 39.5 million residents—more than 15 times the country's original population! The U.S. also went “from a nation of farmers to a nation of city goers,” says Bangs.
While the country may look different, some things have remained the same. “Americans are still in pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness,” says Smith.