Uniting museums and historic sites across the nation, “On Our 250th” campaign invites every American to share a message of hope and vision for our future
APRIL 22, 2025 - As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, Lincoln Presidential Foundation, in partnership with The New York Historical and Made By US, launches On Our 250th—a dynamic, nationwide initiative celebrating our collective heritage and inspiring a forward-looking dialogue. On Our 250th invites Americans of all ages to share brief messages that convey their hopes for our nation on this momentous anniversary online and in person at participating museums.
In collaboration with leading museums and historic sites from across the country—including Atlanta History Center, Chicago History Museum, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Idaho State Museum, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Levine Museum of the New South, Lincoln Presidential Foundation, National Liberty Museum, National WWI Museum and Memorial, The New York Historical, Ruth Mott Foundation/Applewood, Senator John Heinz History Center, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and Wyoming State Museum—the campaign ensures that voices from every corner of the nation will be heard and celebrated.
Online, messages between five and 50 words can be posted to onour250th.org. Lincoln Presidential Foundation will host an onsite “Wish Wall” from Juneteenth to July 4, 2025, at Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, IL. At The New York Historical visitors can share their messages with sticky notes that will be displayed on-site later this year. The number of participating museums is expected to grow as 2026 approaches. Offering a megaphone to Americans of all ages and backgrounds, this campaign reflects a long American tradition of citizens using their voices, harkening back to Patrick Henry’s historic call for unity: “I am not a Virginian, but an American.”
“On Our 250th is a call to reflect, celebrate, and act,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of The New York Historical. “We are inviting museums and historical institutions across the country to join us in conversation around the ideas that shaped our nation and that influence our lives today, as we enter this momentous semiquincentennial year. By bringing the voices of Americans together in conversation, we seek to articulate both the ties that bind us as a people, and the wishes of our respective communities for posterity.”
“We’re honored to be participating in On Our 250th,” said Erin Carlson Mast, President & CEO of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. “Abraham Lincoln consistently referred to the Founding and the words of the Declaration of Independence when envisioning a better future for our nation. Together, we’re creating spaces where people from across the country can reflect on our ongoing experiment in self-governance and offer their wishes for our shared future.”
Among the messages already gathered for On Our 250th are:
- “Happy Birthday, USA! My wish for you is to once again be a united country meant to protect and serve all. To return to a land of opportunity and diversity for all who seek it.”
- “I wish all children receive a high-quality education to prepare themselves to reach their dreams!”
- “A world where historical understanding is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy.”
- “When historians…write the story of the 21st century, let them say it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate.”
Lincoln Presidential Foundation is collaborating with scholars, historic sites, and museums in multiple states on programs and resources that explore Abraham Lincoln’s view of the American Founding, his understanding of each generation’s responsibility to maintain and advance our system of self-governance, and his impact on the nation. In addition to programs created for the 250th, the Foundation will incorporate 250th themes into existing programs such as its Four Score Speaker Series and Latest Generation Film Contest.
In addition to the On Our 250th initiative, The New York Historical will host a broad suite of exhibitions and programs, coinciding with the grand opening of its new Tang Wing for American Democracy year. The exhibitions related to the 250th anniversary will take place over a 15-month period, from October 2025 to December 2026. The exhibitions include: Declaring the Revolution: America’s Printed Path to Independence; Arriving in America: Portraits of Immigrants from The New York Historical Collections; Revolutionary Women; Old Masters and New Amsterdam; Democracy Matters; and “You Should be Dancing”: New York, 1976.
About the Lincoln Presidential Foundation
Established in 2000, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity headquartered in Illinois. It is the only national foundation focused on increasing access to history, educational programs, exhibits, and sites highlighting the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The Foundation works in cooperation and partnership with others locally, nationally, and globally. Its vision is a world where freedom and democracy flourish, inspired by the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. Learn more at lincolnpresidential.org.
About The New York Historical
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution covering over 400 years of American history. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; peerless collections of art, documents, and artifacts; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Tumblr.
About Made By Us
Born in 2018 and launched in 2020 as a collaborative effort of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Senator John Heinz History Center, National Archives Foundation, Atlanta History Center, HistoryMiami Museum, and The New York Historical, with leadership from First Americans Museum, Charles Wright Museum of African American History, Conner Prairie and Colonial Williamsburg, Made By Us has grown into a movement of hundreds of participating institutions across the United States, joining forces to share credible, pluralist history and civics information for the generation ready to put it into action. Learn more at historymadebyus.org.
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