America250: The celebration is on

On July 4, 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The document is so famous and iconic that we think we know it, when in truth, we don't. But the declaration deserves a close look. It did nothing less than sever ties between our 13 original colonies and Great Britain. Equally profound, it established foundational ideas of equality, the rights to life, liberty and an always surprisingly modern concept - the pursuit of happiness.

"Imagine the drama of the moment, the colonies deciding that they are going to break from the most powerful empire in the world and create a government dedicated to timeless ideas," said Andrew Finstuen, dean of the Honors College, interim dean of the College of Education and director of the Institute for Advancing American Values. "When these men (56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress) signed the Declaration of Independence, their lives were on the line. And that's not an exaggeration. If the colonies had lost the war, the signers would have been first on the list for the British to track down."

Finstuen is leading efforts on campus and partnering with state agencies to recognize this moment in our collective history.

Why is recognizing milestones important?

Andrew Finstuen: "If you think about the U.S. the way we think about a person's life, milestones matter. We mark anniversaries and transitions because they help us pause, reflect and take stock. As a nation, that's what these moments do, too.

What's remarkable about the United States is that it isn't grounded in lineage, royalty or church authority in the way most Western nations are. It's an experiment built around shared principles - an idea more than a bloodline. Lineage and origins still matter, of course - we talk about fourth- or fifth-generation Idahoans, religious roots - but our core story is different.

Humans are drawn to symmetry and round numbers: 50, 100, 200, 250. They invite ritual. And in America, we're still inventing those rituals. We're a young country, so each milestone becomes a chance to define who we are - and who we want to be."

What America250 initiative began at Boise State?

Reading the Republic, from Boise State's Institute for Advancing American Values, invites people to choose a famous American document from a list of 10, read it, talk about it with another person (perhaps someone who thinks very differently) and record their thoughts for inclusion in a public archive.

Choice of documents includes the Declaration of Independence, naturally, but also significant essays ranging from the Edenton Ladies Agreement (1774, calling for the boycott of British tea) to George Washington's 1799 eulogy and dazzlers in between, including Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech from 1775.

How did Reading the Republic begin?

Reading the Republic began as an assignment in Finstuen's Honors 392 class of the same name, first taught in spring 2025. Finstuen said he wanted his students to engage with the voices in American documents to develop a sense of how bold the events of the 1700s truly were and how they remain relevant.

"In the revolutionary era, differing ideas were at the very core of the founding of America," he said.

He urges students and anyone else to participate in the public version of Reading the Republic on the state website, then to continue reading down through the centuries - writers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, writer and leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S., and Frederick Douglass, writer and orator in the movement for Black civil rights.

"We all need a reminder of the tradition of thought that has shaped the country. Know your tradition," Finstuen said. "Vote, read, talk to people. Our participation keeps the experiment going."

What did Reading the Republic mean to students?

Alum Ethan LaHaug (BS, psychology and political science, 2025) grew up in Boise. He is a first-year student at the University of Idaho College of Law and was in Finstuen's Reading the Republic course.

"Finstuen's class exposed us to thinkers from every era and across the spectrum: liberals and conservatives, business leaders, philosophers, enslaved people and slave owners, and women writing at a time when they were largely excluded from the public sphere. Walking through American history in this way helped me better appreciate what America is and how we became who we are," LaHaug said.

One of the most valuable aspects of the course, he added, was the way Finstuen assigned readings from opposing sides. "I would read one piece and think, I can see that, then read a piece from an opposing viewpoint and think, hold on, I agree with that, too - how can this be possible?" Class discussions inevitably raised more questions and welcomed even more perspectives.

"The course teaches students how to think, not what to think," LaHaug said.

The back story: Why is Boise State involved in America250?

The Idaho State Board of Education passed a resolution aimed at strengthening civic knowledge and civic practice in higher education. While Idaho's colleges and universities have long taught civics through fields like political science and history, national surveys show that basic civic understanding has waned, Finstuen said. The board wants to reverse that trend. Boise State is part of that work. The Institute for Advancing American Values received funding to help students and the broader public better understand how democracy works - and, in this anniversary year, why it matters.

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