Arizona 250 Initiatives

COMMENTARY

• Private sector sponsors raised $1.5 million for Arizona’s America250 celebration
• America250az.org focuses on decentralized community based celebrations across Arizona instead of a single large event
• Each town contributes its own celebration
• Emphasis on bipartisan cooperation quoting Eisenhower’s tradition of working on agreements to avoid discord

Historical Stories

GUEST

• Tom Babbage/Arizona’s Official Presidential Historian – Casa Grande Dispatch

COMMENTARY

• Complex relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who died exactly on July 4th
• The electoral tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr in 1800 led to a constitutional crisis and duel
• William Henry Harrison’s shortest presidency in U.S. history 31 days
• Poor water sanitation in early Washington, D.C. caused illnesses and deaths among presidents and their families

Takeaways

COMMENTARY

• Milestone recognition of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
• 4th of July fireworks and community celebrations happening all over Arizona
• The Declaration of Independence is the greatest human-written document in history
• Ties to the Declaration to earlier documents like The Magna Carta and Enlightenment thinkers Locke, Jefferson and Adams