As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th birthday, Congress is taking a road trip back to the place where it all began — Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Led by Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, members will gather for a ceremonial event Thursday in his hometown, an effort Boyle said was two years in the making.
“This is going to be truly one of the highlights of my tenure in Congress, to be sitting there where our Founding Fathers sat exactly 250 years prior, to the exact day,” Boyle said, adding he hoped it could be a rare “unifying moment.”
While July 4 gets most of the fanfare, Boyle said its lesser-known neighbor, July 2, deserves more attention as the day the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776.
“It was always the date that John Adams thought would be celebrated as America’s birthday. Unfortunately, this was another instance in which Adams lost to [Thomas] Jefferson — because Americans came to, of course, celebrate two days later the Fourth of July, which is the date Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence,” he said.
Planning the event was no small feat, since assembling a group of lawmakers away from the Capitol requires overcoming what Boyle said are “considerable” security concerns. In an interview earlier this week, he declined to share a list of expected attendees.
The last time members of Congress met at Independence Hall in modern times was in 1987, when they commemorated the 200th anniversary of the “Great Compromise” — the agreement that established the legislative branch as having two chambers.
Boyle had originally hoped for an occasion more along those lines, introducing legislation last February that would have authorized holding a joint session of Congress in Philadelphia. Despite bipartisan support from Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, R-Ala., and other lawmakers serving on the America250 semiquincentennial commission, that concurrent resolution never advanced.
Instead, the gathering Thursday won’t be a formal meeting of Congress, though Boyle said he hopes it will offer more than a history lesson and a chance to tout the district he represents.
“I’ve really been in love with the story of America’s founding from as early as I can remember,” Boyle said, recalling visits to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell as staples of childhood field trips. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, when we do things [in Congress], it is of a partisan nature … so besides the history of it, I hope that after this, the spirit of this event will live on.”
It comes at a time of politically charged arguments about U.S. history and who gets to be an American. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right for citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented immigrant parents or those with temporary legal status.
Boyle, whose father immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland, called the timing “ironic” but nothing new.
“It was the same fight that was happening 100 years ago in the 1920s, it was the same fight that was happening in the 1840s or even the late 18th century,” Boyle said. “Growing up with an immigrant father and immigrant maternal grandparents, I was raised in a deeply patriotic household that proudly flew the American flag and deeply believed in the American Dream … and I would not be sitting here as a member of Congress had I not had that sort of grounding.”
It also comes as the House canceled Wednesday and Thursday votes as GOP infighting derailed its legislative schedule — a development that Boyle had been rooting against, hoping members wouldn’t take it as a sign to jet home early and skip the northward journey to his event.
“I’m nervous. Let’s just say that right now, at the moment, I am very much a fan of Mike Johnson keeping the House in session through Thursday morning, so that way our plans for Independence Hall on July 2 aren’t negatively impacted,” Boyle said before the vote cancellations were announced.
But the Philly native has been putting in the work to convince lawmakers it’s worth the trip. His pitch? Be a part of history.
“I’ve kind of been a one-man salesman, going around passing out cards about it, sending text messages, picking up the phone and calling people — because look, I get it. There is such pressure on every member to be back in the district as much as possible,” he said. “But this is an opportunity to be part of something that’s above yourself, that truly will be special and historic. And if you can just delay going home by one day, then I think it’ll be well worth it.”
