America's 250th
250 Years of the First Freedom
This year America turns 250 — and so does the idea that a free country needs a free press. When the founders wrote the First Amendment, they protected the press by name. They didn't do it to favor an industry. They did it because democracy can't function without an informed public.
What’s Your Town’s Story?
Across Washington, the papers covering your town have been part of that story for generations. Some of them are older than Washington statehood itself. They still show up at your city council meetings. They still name the graduates and the volunteers. They still put ink on the record of your community. This is the year our papers are marking the 250th — with editorials, local history features, community events, and a series of short videos about the journalists keeping Washington's towns informed.
Eighty-five percent of Americans say local newspapers are essential to sustaining democracy. Seventy-four percent worry their community would be hurt if the local paper disappeared. We agree. This is a chance to celebrate what your paper does for your town — and to renew the promise of the First Freedom: religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. These five freedoms belong to all of us.
If your community has a story from the past 250 years — a family, a business, a place, a person — your local paper wants to hear it. So do we. Welcome.
Civic Season — Juneteenth through July 4
School Up on History, Skill Up to Shape the Future.
Two weeks when more than 400 museums, libraries, and cultural sites across the country host programs on American history and civic engagement. The theme is participation: attend a public meeting, volunteer for a local cause, read a founding document, talk to a neighbor you've never met.
National Youth Takeover Day — June 27
The Next Generation Takes the Stage.
Young people nationwide lead programs, host events, and take over institutional social channels for the day. Across Washington, student journalists are partnering with their local papers for newsroom takeovers.
America's Block Party — July 3–4
250 Years on Your Street.
Community-run block parties, neighbor to neighbor, registered through America250.org. Music, food, a midnight ball drop in Times Square rolling over into Independence Day, and coverage in papers across Washington the morning after.
The Semiquincentennial — July 4
America at 250.
Parades, fireworks, and ceremonies coast to coast. A national time capsule is buried at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
Giving 4th — July 4
The Largest Day of Giving in American History.
A national initiative to make July 4, 2026 the single largest day of charitable giving the country has ever seen. An invitation to invest in the civic institutions that make your community work — from food banks to fire auxiliaries to local newsrooms.
America's Potluck — July 5
The Country Shares a Meal.
The day after the fireworks, neighbors share food and conversation in community potlucks nationwide. A simpler anniversary, built around the table instead of the parade.
Constitution Day — September 17
The First Amendment at 235.
The United States Constitution was signed on this date in 1787. The Bill of Rights — and the First Amendment's guarantee of a free press — followed in 1791. On its 235th birthday, Washington's local papers are marking what that freedom looks like in practice.
America's Field Trip — year-round, through 2026
What Does America Mean to You?
K-12 students across the country submit writing and art in response to the question. Selected entries become national features; many Washington papers are publishing local submissions alongside.
America Gives — year-round, through 2026
A Year of American Service.
A year-long volunteer initiative aimed at making 2026 the largest year of community service in American history. Every hour counts toward the total.
Work With Your Local Paper
Your community's 250-year story is exactly that — yours. Your local paper is the place it gets recorded. Four ways to help your paper cover your town well in 2026:
Share a story, a photo, a family history. Old snapshots, grandparents' letters, community-event photos, the founding records of a local business, school, or church. Your local paper is building an archive of these this year. Even a single photograph from 1950 is a story.
Nominate a community institution. A business, a church, a school, a club, a nonprofit, a landmark that has been part of your town for generations. These are the profiles that anchor a paper's 250th coverage — and your paper may not know about yours unless you say so.
Host or register an event. Block parties, potlucks, history walks, time capsule ceremonies. If you're organizing something for the 250th, tell your paper. Coverage, calendar listings, and in some cases co-sponsorship may be available.
Subscribe, advertise, read. The most durable way to support your paper's 250th coverage — and everything else your paper does every week — is to be a subscriber, an advertiser, or both. The First Amendment gave your paper the right. You give your paper the reason.
For Publishers: Resources for the "250 Years of the First Freedom" Campaign
The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association has built a free toolkit to help member papers participate in the "250 Years of the First Freedom" campaign. All resources are linked below.
The 250th Strategy. A planning guide covering April through December 2026: key national dates, a month-by-month editorial calendar, four drop-in editorials (publisher and reader versions), advertising and sponsorship packages, a branded merchandise menu, civic engagement programming, and Washington-specific angles for tribal history, statehood, immigration, and the state's Public Records Act.
The First Amendment in Your Town — Curriculum. Three classroom curriculum outlines developed by WNPA for elementary (Grades 3–5), middle school (Grades 6–8), and high school (Grades 9–12). Each provides five to six classroom-ready sessions, aligns with Washington's social studies standards and the C3 framework, and maps to the state's required civics course (RCW 28A.230.094). Activities include First Amendment sorting games, local-newspaper explorations, journalist visits, opinion writing for submission to the local paper, and — at the high school level — a live Washington Public Records Act request. Designed for newspapers to offer to local schools alongside classroom newspaper access and a reporter visit.
The 250th Logo. A WNPA-designed 250th mark for member papers to use in mastheads, special sections, advertising, social graphics, merchandise, and event signage. Available as a color PNG, plus a second version without the star. Additional campaign video resources are under production and will be posted here as they are released.
All resources are linked below. Questions: [email protected].
First Freedom Merch!
America turns 250 this year — and so does the idea that a free country needs a free press. When the founders wrote the First Amendment, they protected the press by name, alongside religion, speech, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Five freedoms. One promise. Still holding.
This shop is the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association's 250th-anniversary storefront. Every bumper sticker, tote, and piece of apparel in here is a small way to carry that promise around with you — on your car, your grocery run, your shoulder, your coffee break. A tote is a rolling billboard. A bumper sticker is a daily reminder. A shirt is an answer to a question nobody asked yet.
Proceeds support the WNPA's 250th campaign work across Washington — and the local newspapers still showing up at city council meetings, still naming the volunteers, still putting ink on the record of your community.
Whether you're a reader, a reporter, or a publisher, welcome. The First Freedom is all of our freedoms.
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