Two Hundred Fifty Years

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Two Hundred Fifty Years

By: Gov. Larry Rhoden

January 2, 2026

I'm pretty stoked for 2026. This year brings the 250th birthday of the United States of America, the freest nation in history - and South Dakota remains the freest state in that nation. As Governor Peter Norbeck said in his 1919 State of the State Address, "The proud record and accomplishments of South Dakota surely point to a state whose star shall outshine all others in the flag of our country."

This year, South Dakota has another opportunity to outshine all other states. As the nation celebrates our "semiquincentennial" birthday (that's the long word for "250th" - you'll be hearing it a lot), South Dakota will host the very best and brightest celebration of our nation's birthday when fireworks go off over Mount Rushmore on July 3.

My Administration is already hard at work planning for that event, and we'll be announcing the opening of the ticket lottery very soon. We're working with our partners in the Trump Administration, who seem just as excited as we are!

The four men enshrined on Mount Rushmore National Memorial are well chosen to represent the great and proud history of our nation.

George Washington courageously led our troops to victory in the Revolutionary War. He brought us triumph without tyranny and set the example for citizen-leadership when he chose first to decline to become a king, then to retire to his farm after serving only two terms as President.

Thomas Jefferson penned our greatest statement of purpose: the Declaration of Independence. The vision was not his - it reflected the will of Almighty God, our Creator, who gave us the unalienable rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our nation has never been perfect, but the Declaration of Independence gave us an ideal that we always strive to achieve.

Theodore Roosevelt made America a world power and an industrial giant. He paved the way for trade with the Panama Canal, fought for conservation, and treasured the American West. TR showed that growth and conservation don't have to be in conflict - in fact they can often pair together rather well.

Abraham Lincoln preserved our Union in the face of its greatest crisis. Lincoln had perhaps the toughest job of any man serving as our nation's chief executive - and being chief executive is never easy! He did it with humility and wisdom, and he accomplished what many thought impossible - both reuniting our nation and ending slavery.

We're going to hear a lot about our nation's history in this upcoming year. We'll celebrate far, far more than just these four men. And we'll have far, far more celebrations throughout the year than just the Mount Rushmore fireworks!

As my good friend Kristi Noem said at that celebration five-and-a-half years ago, "This Independence Day, let us be grateful that we have such words and such examples to follow, and that others were willing to sacrifice so much to create a land in which liberty and law can be protected. Let us not destroy history - let us learn from it by preserving and imitating what is good about it."

There's a lot to preserve and imitate in our nation's past - and in South Dakota's. This year, let us all do our part to look to our history; to proudly wave the Red, White, and Blue; to paint a vision for the future rooted in freedom; and to celebrate America all year long!

Happy 250th birthday to the USA!

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