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

Highlights:

• Political divisions mark America's 250th anniversary
• Some refusing to celebrate 4 July because of Trump's central role and his policies
• Historians say other milestones, including 1976 and 1876, also occurred amid political tumult

Betsy Halsey, 63, still has memorabilia from America's 1976 bicentennial in her childhood bedroom at her parents' home. But the retired teacher is so appalled by President Donald Trump that she refuses to celebrate the country's 250th birthday.

"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, and will mark the occasion by cooking for friends and family. "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 US prepares for its semiquincentennial – the 250th anniversary of its 4 July 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain – political divisions that have defined the Trump era are testing what is traditionally a unifying summer ritual: celebrating the country's founding with fireworks, parades and red-and-white bunting.

With Trump stamping his imprint on the official commemoration, and with his second White House term marked by polarising 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, activists, historians and elected officials 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 US. 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

Trump has put himself at the centre of the country's birthday celebration.

Last year, the White House created Freedom 250, a public-private partnership, to organise 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 4 July, 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 over concerns the fair was too closely tied to Trump. Meanwhile, the US Mint is planning to issue a 250th commemorative gold coin bearing Trump's likeness.

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

"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."

Among the county's quaint river towns, wooded enclaves and farmland are some of the country's best-known Revolutionary War sites. But Bucks County has also been riven by unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, fights over book bans and protests over what version of American history should be taught in schools.

In interviews, residents said the holiday – despite its traditional themes of national identity and shared history – had done little to diminish their concerns about local and national divides.

Many 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? Or has partisanship so fractured voters that they put party over patriotism?

Jim Worthington, 69, a Trump supporter and health club owner, can't understand why anyone would sit out the 250th celebrations. He believes the longevity of America's existence is a marvel worth honouring, 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.

Doylestown Councilman Connor O'Hanlon, 30, a Democrat, noted members of his generation have spent their entire adult lives in a hyper-partisan era marked by "an overall nihilism and cynicism about the direction our country is going in".

But he thinks Americans should use 4 July to reflect upon their shared beliefs – though some of his neighbours doubted many remain.

Doreen Stratton, an activist and writer in Doylestown, can trace her family back to the republic's earliest days: her great-great-grandfather was among the few free Black residents living in Philadelphia in 1776.

Now she fears that years of progress, especially for Black Americans, is 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 the upcoming Independence Day.

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

Dick Creter, whose nonprofit America Celebrates is hosting celebrations in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and neighbouring Lambertville, New Jersey, said several people had sought reassurance the programme 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.

"One thing I'm very aware of is how poor people are at judging their own historical moment," said Yale's Gage. "The story of some of the deepest moments of crisis in America were followed by the moments of deepest change."

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 in response to constituents' inquiries, said Jennifer Martin, executive director of the nonprofit that oversees the park.

She emphasised their approach has always been apolitical.

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