Americans across the nation are joining together to sign and rededicate the Declaration of Independence to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.

In the nonpartisan initiative Sign On 250, Americans electronically sign a renewed Declaration of Independence to reaffirm the truths and commitments of the country’s founding. The updated document follows a similar template and style to the original Declaration but places added emphasis on Americans’ continual commitment to their nation’s founding principles.

The renewed Declaration is “not in protest and not in partisanship, but in shared affirmation of the experiment we have inherited and the responsibilities we now carry forward,” Sign On 250’s website states.

Just one month after the announcement, nearly 3,000 people from all 50 states and most U.S. territories have signed the document. Florida has the highest number of signatures, with approximately 1,500. Participants can sign the document through July 2027.

The first two paragraphs of Sign On 250’s renewed Declaration follow the structure and wording of the original Declaration of Independence. The renewed Declaration then exhorts Americans to remember their duty to pursue the country’s core values.

“We acknowledge that the work of 1776 was not finished in 1776,” the document reads. “The promise of the Declaration has been extended, at great cost, by generations of work – and we accept the unfinished labor of extending it still further, in our own time, by our own hands.”

The renewed Declaration later proclaims a commitment to unity, continued participation in local and national government and “teach[ing] our children the story of this republic – its triumphs and its struggles alike.”

The National League of Cities and America’s Newspapers partnered with The James Madison Institute and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida to launch the initiative June 30.

“The principles in that document remain relevant,” The James Madison Institute CEO Bob McClure said during the opening dedication livestream. “It matters that we say so – out loud, on the record, with our names attached.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/Signon250.org)



Source link