America 250: Keeping the Faith for a Nation That Will Endure

By Jonathan Alexandre

If we imagine all of human history as an hour on a watch, the story of America occupies barely two and a half minutes, an exceedingly short span. Yet in the 250 years between 1776 and 2026, the United States of America has reshaped the world and emerged as the greatest nation on Earth.

As our nation stands on the edge of celebrating its 250^th anniversary, America is like a man standing on his porch after a long day’s work asking, “Did I get it all done? And if I did, what did it all amount to? Will it last?” These are questions worth considering. And it would behoove all of us to pause and reflect on our nation’s founding and recalibrate to the principles that laid a solid foundation that has outlasted numerous wars, economic downturns, and times of civil unrest.

Ours is an extraordinary, albeit imperfect, history. From breaking free from British rule as undoubtedly one of history’s greatest underdogs to — borrowing words from President Ronald Reagan — achieving the “American vision of creating a new nation of free people, a country that would be a light unto the nations, and a shining city upon a hill,” America has risen to heights rarely seen in world history and its influence has reached and touched every corner of the globe.

And while the United States has enjoyed prosperity and power unmatched, we must understand that our nation’s history is at a pivotal crossroads, and we are at risk of squandering it all. It’s up to us to ensure that this Great Republic and its heritage will endure for generations to come.

In God We Trust — or Trusted?

Countries rise and fall because of what they do — or don’t — trust in.

The psalmist knew this when he wrote, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).

Our Founders agreed with this enduring truth. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, said, “Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?”

The Founders’ courage to forge a new nation unlike any other was underscored by their own personal piety before Almighty God. They knew they needed God’s help and built a nation undergirded by Christian principles.

When we fast-forward to 2026, we see how far we have fallen from what our Founders intended. As John Adams wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Today, abortion is legal in all 50 states. Politics is so polarized that one party can’t define what a woman is. The very freedoms our Founders fought and died for are under attack. Religious “nones,” those who say they are atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” make up the largest cohort in the U.S. at 29%, according to the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study from Pew Research.

Preserving a republic involves more than building a big fighting force and even bigger buildings. Getting this right begins in our kitchens, on front porches, during car rides, at Little League games, and during bedtime devotions. It means trusting in God, not government, and recognizing that Christianity is what makes our nation great.

Upon exiting the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the story goes that Benjamin Franklin was asked: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

These words serve as a sobering reminder that the survival of our republic is contingent on us fighting for its preservation and handing it down to our children.

Fight for a Nation that Endures

This is where it gets personal. I feel the weight of this every time I see my two little girls. They are Americans learning in their infancy about our nation and its citizens. They’ve got another sibling on the way — another child, another citizen, another American. While my children won’t see the next 250 years, they will see enough for it to matter.

America, please give them a nation that will still build, still lead, still innovate, still protect, and still achieve. Americans, do what you can at the ballot box, in the boardroom, and in our schools, so that they inherit a culture and a community that reflects truth, integrity, faith, justice, family, and humility.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

America’s Founders understood the fragility of freedom when they set out to establish a nation by the people and for the people. I’ll do my part to preserve the freedoms we hold dear. America, do your part to preserve this nation for its next 250 years and beyond.

We would be wise to heed Reagan’s words: “Let it be said of this generation of Americans that when we pass the torch of freedom onto the new generation, it was burning as brightly as when it was handed to us. ... And we will have kept faith with God.”

Click HERE for more from Jonathan Alexandre, Esq., Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Senior Counsel for Liberty Counsel and Liberty Counsel Action.