Communities Scale Back America 250 Celebrations

This year, the United States of America turns 250. Many communities, including Kansas City. Yes are celebrating the milestone in a variety of ways. Other places, however, are scaling back on patriotic festivities. But why?

Cuts to Federal Funding

Some of the cuts stem from a national-level funding issue. Last year, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created in an effort to reduce government waste. One sector that saw many losses was the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). DOGE placed nearly 80% of the national NEH staff on administrative leave.

The NEH awards money to recipients such as libraries, museums, universities, and historic sites. As a result of the staff layoffs, the NEH reduced its grants for state humanities councils. This left groups with about $6.5 million in federal funding (though some funding was made up by private sources) to devote to local America250 celebrations. Some examples of affected programs include themed K-12 curriculums and library speaker series events.

Local Budget Concerns

With inflation rising over the past few years, the cost of an America250 celebration is high. Security—police, barricades, traffic control, medical teams— is a necessary expense for high-attendance events, and typically gets prioritized over the decorative parts of events. Similarly, municipal budgets are already tight, and celebration planning has to compete with everyday services like pothole repair and public transit.

READ: Here’s what’s happening locally around the nation’s 250th birthday

Another area where competition comes into play is in securing vendors. With so many similar events occurring on the same day, there’s limited availability and higher demand—thus a higher cost—for infrastructure such as stages, fencing, lighting, and portable bathrooms

Changing Views

Finances aside, another cause for the shift is social and political. In recent years, Americans’ views of their country have become increasingly negative. In a Pew Research poll from January, over two-thirds of U.S. adults are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, and almost 60% believe the nation’s best years are behind us.

Given that attitude, an increasing number of Americans don’t feel patriotic. To them, America250 is less a celebration and more a reminder of the country’s shortcomings. Some online commentary demonstrates this view, with one blog post bearing the blunt title, “why have a 250th birthday celebration, america? there is not much to celebrate.” In it, the writer opens with, “#BOYCOTTAMERICA250.”

This issue largely seems to have a partisan split, though. A recent Fox News national survey found that nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans described the U.S. with negative terms. Conversely, more than four times as many Republicans used positive words. 

But the data isn’t entirely bleak. In the above Pew survey, 68% of U.S. adults said they felt hopeful thinking about the future, and 54% felt happy. Similarly, a greater share of Americans now, compared to a few years ago, have a more positive outlook on the country’s future economy and importance.

The scaling back of America250 celebrations in local communities is not fueled by one single cause. A mix of budget concerns and federal funding issues have made the practicality of hosting events more difficult, while a broader decline in patriotism has dampened enthusiasm surrounding the semiquincentennial. As a result, some communities across the country are reducing the festivities for the milestone, sometimes combining them with regularly-scheduled Independence Day plans. And for some, they might not celebrate at all.

–By Lyra Thompson | Metro Voice