It was a hot July day in Philadelphia nearly 250 years ago when 56 men stepped forward and did something unthinkable. With ink and conviction, they signed a parchment that would become one of the most revered documents in history—the Declaration of Independence. But in 1776, it was not a sacred relic. It was a death warrant.
These men, founders of a new nation that had yet to win a single battle, pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to the cause of American independence. They weren’t just risking abstract ideals. They were placing a bounty on their own heads. The British Crown saw them not as patriots, but as traitors, and traitors were to be hanged.
Take Thomas Nelson, a signer from Virginia. During the war, British troops occupied his family mansion. Rather than spare it, he reportedly urged General George Washington to open fire on the British occupiers. He knew that liberty came at a cost—and he was willing to pay it in brick, blood, and legacy.
Despite overwhelming odds, those men and the ragged army they inspired endured. Against the most powerful empire in the world, the revolutionaries held their ground—at Valley Forge, in the swamps of the Carolinas, and finally, triumphantly, at Yorktown in 1781. Victory, however, did not mean stability.
The years that followed were chaotic. The young nation limped along under the Articles of Confederation, a loose framework that couldn’t even compel states to pay taxes. The dream was flickering. In 1787, many of those same revolutionaries gathered again in Philadelphia, this time behind closed doors, to craft a more lasting solution. What emerged was the U.S. Constitution—a bold structure of checks and balances, of rights and representation. It was not perfect, but it was resilient.
Still, one truth burned at the core of it all: the idea that “all men are created equal,” the foundational line of the Declaration. That phrase, written by Thomas Jefferson, rang with clarity but lived in contradiction. Slavery remained legal, and millions lived in bondage beneath the flag of liberty.
Fast forward “four-score and seven” years after the signing of the Declaration, and a tall, gaunt man from Illinois stood on a battlefield where tens of thousands had died. President Abraham Lincoln, in his “Gettysburg Address,” didn’t speak for long. But his words thundered through time.
He didn’t talk of vengeance or victory. Instead, he said the war was a “great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” Lincoln saw the Civil War not just as a conflict over territory or secession, but as the ultimate test of the Declaration’s promise.
At Gettysburg, he reframed the Constitution through the lens of the Declaration. “All men are created equal” wasn’t just poetic flourish—it was the cornerstone of the American experiment. And it was worth preserving, even if it cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
Lincoln understood what the founders had risked: their lives for an idea. He understood what the Union soldiers were dying for: to protect and expand that idea. In the final words of his address, he urged the nation to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
That sentence, like the Declaration itself, wasn’t merely a political statement—it was a promise. And it was bought with blood. From Lexington and Concord to Appomattox, from Jefferson’s quill to Lincoln’s oratory, America’s story is one of constant reckoning with its ideals.
The signers of the Declaration were hunted men who gambled everything on the chance that freedom might prevail. They won that gamble. The Constitution they inspired set the groundwork for a republic. But it was Lincoln who reminded the nation why it all mattered. Without equality, liberty is hollow. Without justice, freedom is fragile.
Today, we rightly celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks and flags, because the men who started it did so at the risk of everything. And we quote Lincoln inspired by the fact that he was reaching back to the very beginning—to the parchment that dared to declare that all men are created equal.
The founding of America was not a single moment, but a journey. It began in defiance, was tested in war, codified in law, and reaffirmed in civil bloodshed. Every generation since has been asked, in one way or another, to continue that journey.
Ridgefield Commemorates America At 250 Committee
In photo from left to right: Meetinghouse director Deborah Rundlett, RCA250 co-chair and ECDC chair Geoffrey Morris, Property Twins Team at Houlihan Lawrence's Stephanie Heering, Louzette Dovaras, Elegant Ridgefield owner and secretary Elizabeth Murray Ellis, Ridgefield Arts Council member Renee Brown-Cheng (in white), co-chair and Theater Barn executive director Pamme Jones, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center board president Sara Champion, Keeler Tavern executive director Hildegard Grob, Dawn Fawcett, and committee treasurer Jim Carone.
Ridgefield will commemorate America’s 250th year with a yearlong series of events. It begins on July 4, 2025, with a barbecue and gathering at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, punctuated with a reading of the full Declaration of Independence. Admission is free, burgers are $7.50.
It ends a year later with a weekend packed with events. A town-wide parade at 10 am on Friday, July 3, 2026, starting at Jesse Lee Church, heading north on Main Street to Ballard Park. Everyone can march but you must apply and explain your float or group, falling under the theme “Evolving Liberty.”
Fourth of July Celebration: Friday, July 4, 2025, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, 152 Main Street
Liberty Ball: Friday, July 3, 2026 5 p.m., Lounsbury House, 316 Main Street. Tickets can be purchased at ridgefiedct250.org
Townwide Festival: Sunday, July 4, 2026, 10 am to 2 pm, Ballard Park: period games, demonstrations, and contra dancing. Admission is free.
To learn about the dozens of other events taking place throughout the year, visit ridgefieldct250.org and follow the committee on Facebook and Instagram @ridgefieldct250.
Ridgefield will commemorate America’s 250th year with a yearlong series of events. It begins on July 4, 2025, with a barbecue and gathering at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, punctuated with a reading of the full Declaration of Independence. Admission is free, burgers are $8.00.
Friday, July 4, 2025, 11 am to 3 pm, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, 152 Main Street
It ends a year later with a weekend packed with events. A townwide parade at 10 am on Friday, July 3, 2026, starting at Jesse Lee Church, heading north on Main Street to Ballard Park. Everyone can march but you must apply and explain your float or group, falling under the theme Evolving Liberty.
Liberty Ball, Friday, July 3, 5 pm, Lounsbury House, 316 Main Street. Purchase tickets at ridgefiedct250.org
Townwide festival, Sunday, July 4, 2026, 10 am to 2 pm, Ballard Park: period games, demonstrations, and contra dancing. Admission is free.
To learn about the dozens of other events taking place throughout the year, visit ridgefieldct250.org and follow the committee on Facebook and Instagram @ridgefieldct250.