A More Perfect Union
Exploring America’s Story and Commemorating Its 250th Anniversary
On July 4, 2026, America will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This milestone, also referred to as the nation’s Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to explore America’s 250-year history, and to look toward its next 250. NEH’s A More Perfect Union initiative supports the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026 by funding projects that enhance our understanding of our nation, including the country’s founding period.
Since its launch, NEH has awarded A More Perfect Union funding in each of the 50 U.S. states and six jurisdictions, including:
- In 2024, NEH awarded $717,200 to its state and jurisdictional humanities council partners to support the expansion of National History Day, which engages middle- and high-school students in hands-on historical research. Learn more about these awards.
- In 2021, NEH established a partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to invest $2.2 million in the History and Culture Access Consortium (HCAC), a five-year pilot project to strengthen the archives and museums of five Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
- In 2019, NEH partnered with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to support the creation of educational and digital resources for the East Baltimore Documentary Survey Project. For the Bicentennial, more than 70 cities were photographed to create a historical record. East Baltimore serves as a pilot project for a larger effort that will revisit the cities fifty years later.
- “Held in Trust,” a three-year cooperative agreement between NEH and the Foundation for the Advancement in Conservation, examines the state of conservation, establishes a forward-looking vision for the preservation of the nation 's cultural heritage, and identifies future priorities.
- In 2020, NEH co-hosted the Native Arts and Culture: Resilience, Reclamation, and Relevance Convening, a first-of-its-kind gathering of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian archivists, preservationists, historians, artists, curators, and organizational and tribal community leaders to discuss best practices and common challenges in creating, sharing, curating, researching, and resourcing Native arts and cultural heritage.
- In 2019, NEH established a $1.1 million partnership with the Department of Education to support a national initiative to improve the teaching and learning of American history and government in K–12 classrooms. The resulting report, “Educating for American Democracy,” was released in March 2021.
A More Perfect Union is a program under NEH’s American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future initiative.
NEH is an ex officio member of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, created by Congress to commemorate our nation 's founding.