Happy (Real) Birthday to the United States!

The US has thrived and survived through two hundred and fifty consecutive years of ups and downs. Republics seldom last as long as the US has managed – this fact begs the question: how many more ups and downs can be managed?

While the US traditionally celebrates Independence Day on the 4^th of July, this is not the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. Rather, the US Declaration of Independence was signed on the 2^nd of August.

The famous John Trumbull painting titled Declaration of Independence, and which is featured on the seldom-seen two-dollar US currency note, depicts the actions of the representatives of the democratically elected Congress occurring in Philadelphia on the 2nd of August, 1776 – and not on the 4th of July.

At 250 years of age, the US has continued its rarified status as one of the few long-lived large republics. Many small city states or small-scale republics have existed through the years – but few have become large republics spanning diverse geography and enabling the successful integration and collaboration of and between varied populations. 

The US is also the oldest currently functioning republic at the nation-state level. Sometimes the Isle of Man is cited as the oldest still functioning republic. However, the Isle of Man, which continues to exist as a dependency of the United Kingdom, is not a genuine sovereign nation. Another republic that is sometimes cited as being the oldest is the Republic of San Marino. The roots of this small country go back to the year 301 CE and enable an aspirational claim of more than 1,700 years of continuous operation. However, the San Marino government was not recognized as an independent and sovereign state until the conclusion of Napoleon’s Congress of Vienna in 1815. More damning to San Marino’s longevity claim is that the first record of a democratic election did not occur until the year 1906. Additionally, to asset that San Marino has been truly independent and sovereign, these many years and through the various invasions and power transitions occurring on the Italian peninsula over the last two millennia is rather generous.

The gold standard for longevity remains the Roman Republic with its 482 years of continuous and largely successful activity.  The Roman Republic is believed to have been founded in 509 BC and lasted until the year 27 BC when Octavian (aka Augustus) solidified power following several years of civil war. The Roman Republic’s 250^th year would have been the year 259 BCE – which was when the Roman Republic was in the midst of its first of three major wars with Carthage.

Some doom-sayers will assert, at every observable bend in the road, that the US is finally and fatally at a new and never before seen impassable problem; this includes the doom-scroll informed observers of the present day. However, the reality is that the US has a lot of capability and capacity in play. Certainly, there are problems, many (most?) are self-inflicted through poor decisions and non-decisions, but many advantages remain. The problems include an increasingly disaggregated global trade system, a weakened and weakening financial system, mounting debt, and the ongoing destabilization of the network of US alliances and partnerships. The good news is that the US possesses superior geography – which still matters greatly, unique economic dexterity, a national character of innovation and persistence, and most importantly – an ability to reinvent itself when times are tough.  

Happy birthday America. May the next 250 years be the best ones.