America at 250: Then, Now and In Between

This July 4th marks the 250th Anniversary of America’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout that time, photography, artwork, storytelling, music and other forms of art have captured this country’s history and told its story from its beginning to today. This milestone anniversary does not exist within a vacuum. Photography from institutions like the US National Archives, Smithsonian and the Library of Congress show a wide expanse of experiences, triumphs and failures, loss and community building and everything in between. Each moment documented is an important part of this great experiment.

250 years of dreaming big, searching for justice, searching for freedom and documenting it all for those who come after us. That is what photography does. From pivotal moments in American history to quiet ones, a place, a person, a fleeting scene, these are images of what it has looked like to live in a country many of us call home, across 250 years.

Raising the first flag at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, circa 1776-77. Copy of painting by Clyde O. DeLand., 1942 - 1946.

Raising the first flag at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, circa 1776-77. Copy of a painting at US National Archives

Unratified California Treaty K, 1852 Installation at National Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian

Stereograph of Independence Hall, 1875. Library Company of Philadelphia

Theodore Roosevelt at the Army War College, 1903. DC Public Library Commons

Two Boys in Front of a Tipi, documentation of the Flathead Irrigation Project, 1911. US National Archives

Photograph of Immigrants Outside a Building on Ellis Island

On Ellis Island, circa 1900. US National Archives

Votes for Women A Success, 1914. Schlesinger Library

Uncle Sam’s Birthday. 1776- July 4th 1918. 142 Years Young and Going Strong. US National Archives

Photograph of the Abraham Lincoln Statue Installation in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1920

Abraham Lincoln Statue Installation in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 1920. US National Archives

Basic and Advanced Flying School for Negro Air Corps Cadets, Tuskegee, Alabama

Basic and Advanced Flying School, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1941. US National Archives

THIS IS AMERICA... WHERE YOU VOTE AS YOU PLEASE, 1941 - 1945

This is America, Where you vote as you please, 1945. US National Archives

Washington, D.C. Grocery store owned by Mr. J. Benjamin, on Saturday afternoon (LOC)

D.C. Grocery store owned by Mr. J. 1942. US National Archives

Photograph of a Young Woman at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. with a Banner, 08/28/1963

Young Woman at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. 1963. US National Archives

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [A wide-angle view of marchers along the mall, showing the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument.], 08/28/1963

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. at the Reflecting Pool, 1963. US National Archives

The Reagans and Michael Jackson at the White House Ceremony to Launch the Campaign Against Drunk Driving, 05/14/1984

The Reagans and Michael Jackson at the White House, 1984. US National Archives

Crewmember in SPACELAB wearing the Acceleration Recording Unit and Collar, 1993. NASA

In Peace Shall She Wave, 2009. Photo by David Goehring

People’s Climate March, NYC, NY, 2014. Photo by Guano

First Family joined others to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, 2015. Photo by Lawrence Jackson

Chicago, IL, 2017. Photo by Alek S.

From the Library of Congress: COVID-19: American Experiences project, 2021. Photo by Diane Krauthamer

Honoring the 31st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities act with activist Tyree Brown in the Rose Garden, July 26, 2021. Photo by Adam Schultz

Washington: 'Gentlemen: one day America will invent skyscrapers of steel and concrete for the world, yes steel, that look like giant corn cobs'

Robert Morris, George Washington, & Haym Salomon, 2025, Chicago. Sculptor: Lorado Taft. Photo by Don Sniegowski

NASA Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch, 2026. NASA

The Story Continues

From the very beginning to today, photography has captured America’s history and told the stories along the way, the struggles, the triumphs, the importance of community. The experiment continues and we hope you’ll keep documenting it. Get out there, take those photos and share them with us on Flickr. It’s a story that deserves to be told and your experiences are part of it. We can’t wait to see it unfold. Happy 250th, America!