Happy birthday, America? At 250, nation may be too divided to celebrate as one

"I don't want to be at the same party with people feeling enthusiastic about where our country is going," said Halsey, a frequent Democratic voter who lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Dan Marrazzo, 70, a Republican and laundromat owner who lives in nearby Langhorne Manor, is ready to celebrate, believing America under Trump is thriving.

"The poorest person in America has a better lifestyle than some of the richest people in the rest of the world," he said.

As the U.S. prepares for its semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of its July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence from Great Britain — political divisions are testing what is traditionally a unifying summer ritual.

With Trump stamping his imprint on the official commemoration, and with his second White House term marked by polarizing policies on immigration, the economy and foreign affairs, many Americans are struggling with how to separate the politics from the pageantry.

"The very idea of celebrating has become political and partisan," said Beverly Gage, a Yale University historian. "What is striking about our moment is how widespread the pessimism seems to be."

One in five Americans say they won't celebrate Independence Day this year — including a quarter of Democrats and 8% of Republicans — according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Two in five do not believe the country will survive another 250 years.

To better understand how Americans feel about the anniversary, Reuters interviewed more than two dozen residents in Bucks County, where Halsey and Marrazzo live.

Once a political backwater, Bucks County today is a microcosm of the cultural and partisan schisms convulsing the U.S. A deeply divided region in a critical electoral swing state, Pennsylvania, it is a county Trump won by fewer than 300 votes out of some 400,000 cast in 2024.

Trump's imprint

Last year, the White House created Freedom 250, a public-private partnership, to organize anniversary events despite the existence of America250, a congressionally chartered commission that had spent years planning activities.

Freedom 250's marquee event is the Great American State Fair, a two-week exposition on the National Mall. Trump held a campaign-style rally to kick off the fair and will deliver a second one on July 4, drawing criticism that he is turning the nation's celebration into a political event. Several Democratic-led states and a number of musical acts refused to participate.

In Bucks County, Tabitha Dell'Angelo said she was so dismayed by the direction of the country that she did not plan on celebrating July 4.

"I love my country. I am a proud American," the 56-year-old college professor and former Democratic school board member said. "But this version of the celebration does not feel like it's about America, but instead a celebration of Trump."

Many in Bucks County were wrestling with questions that strike at the core of what it means to be an American: Are there still principles that unify the country? 

Jim Worthington, 69, a Trump supporter and health club owner, said he believes the longevity of America's existence is a marvel worth honoring, no matter who is president.

"This is a celebration of 250 years of history, the greatest experiment in the history of the world," Worthington said.

Doreen Stratton, an activist and writer in Doylestown, said her great-great-grandfather was among the few free Black residents living in Philadelphia in 1776.

Now she fears that years of progress are stalling under the Trump administration, which has rolled back some civil rights protections for minorities.

"I almost look at it like I'm in mourning," she said of Independence Day.

The divided sentiments have left local organizers of July 4 events facing a challenging task: how to mark the holiday without alienating swaths of residents.

Dick Creter, whose nonprofit America Celebrates is hosting celebrations in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and neighboring Lambertville, New Jersey, said several people had sought reassurance the program would be nonpartisan.

"I think that to let the celebration of our 250 go by without embracing it, regardless of your political stance, is a mistake," Creter said.

'How we tell histories'

Historians note that prior milestone anniversaries also took place at tumultuous moments. In 1876, the country was coping with the fissures of the Civil War a decade earlier; in 1976, the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal had shaken faith in government.

"The story of some of the deepest moments of crisis in America were followed by the moments of deepest change," said Yale's Gage.

At Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, a stone tablet reminds visitors what occurred there in 1776, when George Washington led his troops through a Christmas night snowstorm across the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on British-allied German soldiers in New Jersey, turning the tide of the war.

Leading up to the 250th, the park conducted research on the contributions of women, Black soldiers and civilians to the war effort, said Jennifer Martin, executive director of the nonprofit that oversees the park.

"It's important that we are telling accurate stories, and that we are not allowing the political climate to influence how we tell histories," she said.

John Godzieba, a retired police officer who has played Washington in Washington Crossing reenactments for more than 15 years, believes most Americans will embrace the moment, if only for a day.

"Maybe on July 5, they'll go back to being angry and disenchanted about the country," he said. "But I think on July 4, they will be here."