James_Jan-Feb_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 55
wo hundred and
fifty years ago,
on a warm and
overcast day in
Philadelphia,
56 men from
13 British colonies pledged their
lives, their fortunes and
their sacred honor to a
radical idea: that people
have the right to govern
themselves.
These delegates of the
Second Continental Congress, including Georgia’s
Button Gwinnett, Lyman
Hall, and George Walton,
ratified the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
It was a political experiment
that has reverberated across
the world for two-and-a-half
centuries.
The 250th anniversary of
this singular moment is certainly
cause for celebration. There will
be fireworks, parades, concerts
and cookouts to mark the occasion.
All of that is good and fitting.
But this historic anniversary
offers us something deeper. It
is an opportunity to pause
and reflect on who we are
as Americans, what values
and ideals unite us and
how the lessons of the past
might guide us toward a
better future.
In Georgia, that work
has already begun. Last
January, Gov. Brian Kemp established the Georgia US250 Commission to work with communities and
organizations in developing plans
for this special commemoration.
One of those organizations,
the Georgia Historical Society
(GHS), has created Restoring Trust
in American Institutions: History
and the Foundations of American
Democracy for the 250th anniversary. This theme of study, which
began during GHS’s 2024-2025
Georgia History Festival, includes
a series of public programs,
publications and educational resources designed
to educate students and the
public about the vital role that
democratic institutions play in
sustaining a republican form
of government.
The topic could not be
more relevant. Public trust in
fundamental American institutions— our government, the law
and the courts and the media—
has eroded dangerously, putting
the republic at risk at a key moment in our national experience.
“We believe that a greater
understanding of our shared
history can strengthen the pillars
of democracy and help to restore
that trust,” said Dr. W. Todd Groce,
president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society and vice
chairman of the Georgia US250
Commission.
Restoring Trust in American Institutions emphasizes
the role that a free press has
historically played in informing the American people
and in holding government
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