Visitors view exhibits in the Lincoln Memorial undercroft in Washington, D.C.

Politics

A Better Celebration of America at 250

by Dale Berning Sawa July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

The new Lincoln Memorial Undercroft museum enshrines America’s highest ideals, however unrealized.

Smoke rises from behind an American flag after a fireworks show honoring America’s 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Politics

The Heart of America Still Beats for Connection

by Dr. Gail C. Christopher July 22, 2026July 22, 2026

Newsletter

A Narrowing Vision of America

by Anne Kim July 5, 2026July 4, 2026

Government

Independence Day, From Jefferson to Reagan to Trump

by Jack Rakove July 4, 2026July 3, 2026

july 4 America 250: The history of semicentennial American presidential oratory is limited but Donald Trump’s upcoming semiquincentennial remarks are destined to mark a low point in the canon. The U.S. Capitol is seen through a mockup of President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Washington.

Politics

What Trump Has to Say on America’s 250th Birthday Won’t Top Coolidge and Ford

by Bill Scher July 3, 2026July 4, 2026

A chromolithographic print of Otto Becker’s 1896 reproduction of “Custer’s Last Fight,” originally painted by Cassilly Adams, which Anheuser-Busch distributed to saloons across America in advertising Budweiser.

Politics

The Battle of Little Bighorn and Why It Never Ends

by Deanne Stillman June 25, 2026June 25, 2026

Harvard, Yale, and other colonial colleges helped shape the founders. But during the Revolution, the campuses were hardly in favor.

Higher Education

America 250: Our Revolutionary Era Colleges Were Hotbeds of … Royalism

by Kirk Carapezza May 22, 2026May 20, 2026

Support the Washington Monthly

Founded in 1969, the Washington Monthly is an independent media organization based in Washington, D.C. Our mission: To preserve democracy and champion good governance through honest journalism and thoughtful commentary.

We’re not a subsidiary of a giant media company or a mouthpiece for ideologues. We’re independent, listened to by insiders and willing to take on sacred cows—liberal and conservative.

Yes, I'll Make a Donation

America 250

A Better Celebration of America at 250

The Heart of America Still Beats for Connection

Independence Day, From Jefferson to Reagan to Trump

What Trump Has to Say on America’s 250th Birthday Won’t Top Coolidge and Ford

The Battle of Little Bighorn and Why It Never Ends

America 250: Our Revolutionary Era Colleges Were Hotbeds of … Royalism

Amy Acton Won’t Debate. It’s Worked Before

It’s Time for Our Own Gloria Days

The Health Care Crisis and How to Fix It

The Feminist Was a Spy

A Fitting End for Trump’s Gaudy Ballroom

The New Normal in Kyiv, Ukraine

Never miss an article!