Happy 250th, U.S.A

By: Miriam Edelman

The United States turns a consequential 250 years old today (July 4, 2026). Our nation is officially a quarter of a millennium old.

As I reflect on the historic nature of today, I think about the following recent question of civil rights leader Wade Henderson: “As America marks its semiquincentennial in 2026, we should ask a simple question: How can the world’s leading democracy justify denying full democratic rights to more than 700,000 of its own citizens?”

The U.S. became a country because of taxation without representation.  According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, before the U.S. became independent, colonists were angry about their lack of self-governance. They paid taxes but were not represented in the British Parliament. According to the American Battlefield Trust:

“Perhaps no phrase is used more to describe the grievances of the colonists in the lead up to the American Revolution than “No taxation without representation!”

“Today, the phrase “No taxation without representation” continues to be used by people who want to have a say in how they are taxed. It remains a powerful phrase that provokes people to think about the consent of the governed.”

The Founding Fathers, who established the U.S., might shudder if they knew that the U.S., which they fought so hard to create, continues to subject its capital’s residents to taxation without representation. For over 225 years, D.C. residents have suffered taxation without representation. They pay federal taxes but do not have voting representation in the U.S. Congress.

For decades, D.C. has been using “Taxation without representation” as a motto, raising awareness of D.C.’s disenfranchisement. D.C. has put these words on many of its license plates and more.

Taxation without representation is a crucial reason why D.C. should become a state. As Norton said in her office’s press release in 2020:

“The taxation issue strikes at the heart of our case for D.C. statehood. D.C. residents pay the same federal taxes as other Americans, and in turn demand the same representation. Nobody likes paying taxes, but the residents of the District particularly don't enjoy paying millions of dollars to support the federal government without the representation their taxes have purchased.”

The U.S. must stop treating residents of its own capital as sub-par citizens. Henderson recently wrote:

“The residents of Washington, D.C., are Americans. They deserve the same rights as other Americans.”

“Throughout our history, the nation has repeatedly expanded the circle of democracy. We abolished slavery. We adopted constitutional amendments guaranteeing equal protection and voting rights. Women gained the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act helped dismantle Jim Crow barriers that had excluded millions from political participation.”

“Each step represented an acknowledgment that democracy is strongest when it includes everyone.”

Unfortunately, democracy still does not include everyone. D.C. residents continue to be left behind and micromanaged.

Let’s take this day to continue our efforts to make D.C. a state. Nothing else will suffice.