American Liberty’s 250th: ‘A Republic, if You Can Keep It’, by Mark Alexander

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” —George Washington (1789)

At our regular Monday staff meeting this week, I took some jabs about how long this 250th Independence Day column would be. The fact is, all the analysis and columns we have published over the last 30 years are, at their core, about American Liberty. But preparing for this column in recent weeks was daunting.

We already celebrated some notable 250th anniversaries in 2025, setting the stage for this Independence Day.

On March 23 of last year, we observed the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s impassioned “Give me Liberty or give me death” speech, which captured the spirit of the coming American Revolution. Then April 19 was the anniversary of the first Patriots’ Day — the battles at Lexington and Concord igniting our Revolutionary War fight for Liberty.

On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress directed “six companies of expert riflemen be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia,” establishing the Continental Army, now the U.S. Army. The next day, George Washington was unanimously appointed its Commander and would spend the next seven years on warfronts with the Redcoats. October 13 was the 250th anniversary of the founding of our Navy, and November 10 was the 250th anniversary of the founding of our Marine Corps. …

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