As We Celebrate Our Nation’s 250th Birthday, We Must Continue To Defend Our Freedoms for Generations to Come

250 is a remarkable birthday.

On July 4, 1776, our Founding Fathers gave birth to a new nation by signing the Declaration of Independence, declaring to the world that our rights come not from government, but from our Creator. And they proclaimed the timeless principles upon which America was founded:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

After that day, there was no turning back. The great American experiment had begun, forged through sacrifice, perseverance, and an unwavering belief that liberty was worth defending. For 250 years, generations of Americans have fought, labored, and sacrificed to build this nation and preserve the freedoms our Founders secured for us.

Those God-given rights remain the foundation of everything we hold dear. But freedom is never guaranteed. Every generation must choose to defend it, protect it, and pass it on to those who come after.

For more than 35 years, the ACLJ has proudly carried on that responsibility. We have defended Americans’ constitutional rights against threats from abroad and, at times, from within our own government – those who wish to expand government power at the expense of individual liberty. We have fought to protect the freedoms of speech and religion.

When security officers at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Archives attempted to prevent citizens from entering because they were wearing pro-life apparel, the ACLJ acted immediately. These institutions preserve our nation’s history and the story of our freedom. The National Archives is home to the Declaration of Independence – the 250-year-old birth certificate of our nation – as well as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Those documents are the bedrock of our freedom, and they belong to every American.

Because of the ACLJ’s legal efforts, federal officials were forced to apologize to the victims and implement official policy changes to help ensure that such a blatant violation of the First Amendment would not happen again.

When the Biden Administration sought to pressure social media platforms to censor conservatives and Christians, attempting to suppress protected speech, the ACLJ took action, successfully defending Americans’ right to express their beliefs without government interference.

More recently, when Virginia, already a blue state, attempted to redraw its congressional districts to overwhelmingly alter the balance in favor of far-Left candidates, influencing election results for years to come, the ACLJ took that fight to the Supreme Court to help stop yet another attempt to manipulate our constitutional system for political gain.

These are only a few examples of the constitutional battles the ACLJ has fought on behalf of the American people. The rights to speak freely, worship openly, raise your families according to your convictions, and even to vote for the candidate of your choosing, must always be defended. And new challenges continue to emerge – threats like socialism, antisemitism, and atheism have seeped into our halls of government – we remain committed to protecting the liberties our Founders entrusted to us.

Over a decade after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had created. His famous reply was simple: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Even then, our forefathers knew that the liberty they’d fought – and died – to obtain was precious and would require continual care and protection, even more than two centuries later.

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we are profoundly grateful for the sacrifices made by so many to secure and preserve our freedom. We thank God for the unalienable rights He has bestowed upon us, and we are deeply thankful for the ACLJ members and ACLJ Champions whose faithful support enables us to defend those rights every day.

The work is not finished. As new challenges arise, we will continue standing in defense of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the God-given liberties that define America – not only for ourselves, but for our children, our grandchildren, and generations of Americans still to come.

May God continue to bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America. May freedom continue to ring for another 250 years and beyond.

Happy Independence Day!