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This summer, the United States turns 250. Against the backdrop of widening political divisions, the anniversary offers more than a commemoration. It is an opportunity to take stock of our progress as a nation, reckon with our complicated past, and remember what binds us together: our shared hope for the well-being of our country and its people.

Since its launch in 2022, �鶹������ý’s Us@250 initiative has been grappling with these three themes of pride, reckoning, and aspiration. With the semiquincentennial on the horizon, we’ve gathered a collection of what we might consider required reading (and watching and listening) for a rich, nuanced understanding of the United States, and of us. As cultural custodians and historians, we believe that national anniversaries, at their best, are vehicles for meaningful conversations—a way to recognize our past and recalibrate for the future.

Below you’ll find a set of diverse resources, from the Declaration of Independence and President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech to Whitney Houston’s iconic 1991 performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and critical readings on labor, suffrage, slavery, immigration, small towns, and more. Taken together, they ask the question this anniversary demands we answer: Who truly belongs, and who gets to thrive?

Pride

Moments, ideas, and cultural expressions that define the nation’s founding vision and evolving identity.

• , Danielle S. Allen, Liveright Publishing
• “,” Robert N. Bellah, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• , Jill Lepore, Liveright Publishing
• “,’” Cinque Henderson, The New Yorker
• , Richard West Sellars, Yale University Press
• , America Ferrera, Gallery Books
• , Steven B. Smith, Yale University Press
• “,” Langston Hughes, The Collected Works of Langston Hughes
• “,” sung by Whitney Houston

Reckoning

A confrontation with the policies, myths, and injustices that complicate the national story.

• , Matthew Davis, St. Martin’s Press
• “,” Jose Antonio Vargas, The New York Times Magazine
• , Steven Greenhouse, Alfred A. Knopf
• “,” Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine
• , Ellen Carol DuBois, Simon & Schuster
• “,” Ned Blackhawk, The Atlantic
• , Clint Smith, Little, Brown, and Company
• “,” Nina Strochlic, National Geographic
• , Ken Burns, PBS

Aspiration

Visions of the future shaped by demographic change, civic participation, and innovation.

• , Paul Taylor, PublicAffairs
• “,” Amanda Gorman, Inaugural Poem
• , Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders, MIT Press
• “,” John F. Kennedy, The White House
• , Stephanie Koontz, Basic Books
• “,” Jennifer M. Chacón, UC Davis Law Review
• , John Lewis, Legacy Lit
• , James Fallows and Deborah Fallows, Pantheon Books
• , Barack Obama, The White House