Jun.26

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

250 Candles: It's Time to Determine the People's Choice

We are planning to do something useful and appropriate for the United States' 250th birthday. We think it should be something generally positive, but also a counterpoint to the rah-rah performative patriotism of the current presidential administration.

We asked for suggestions from readers, and we got a lot of good ones. That said, we need to make sure the idea is something we can execute upon, and something that can produce a month's worth of installments (roughly 20-25 of them). So, we've narrowed it down to these ten ideas:

1. Airing of Grievances: A close-up look at the 27 grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence.
   
   
2. 250 Years: Highlighting one lesser-known invention, event, battle, person born or other development for each year of the 250 years of U.S. history.
   
   
3. America Is Already Great: Readers write in with one thing that makes their neighborhood, town/city, county, or state great.
   
   
4. National Statuary Gallery: Reimagining the Capitol's National Statuary Gallery (2 statues for each state). Who would make the cut if we were picking?
   
   
5. Average Joes (and Jills): What did the life of the common man and woman look like in eras past?
   
   
6. Signers of the Declaration: A look at each of the fellows who signed the Declaration.
   
   
7. Documents in American History: Twenty-five documents that every student of U.S. history should know.
   
   
8. Lies Across America: Things about U.S. history that most people get wrong.
   
   
9. The Book of Lists: Twenty-five lists covering a wide range of historical, cultural, economic and political topics.
   
   
10. Rushmores: Who would be on the Mt. Rushmore of American musicians? Of American women? Of Supreme Court Justices? Of American Generals? Of civil rights activists?

We would like readers to register their views in two different ways; if you're up for doing so, the survey is here. Please get your votes in by Monday at 9:00 p.m. PT, because we need to start prepping. (Z)