As Philadelphia prepares to celebrate America's 250th birthday in 2026, historians look to the past for lessons
Wednesday marks 500 days until July 4, 2026, the day the United States will mark its 250th birthday, with Philadelphia taking center stage.
With that in mind, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania opened its vault to show CBS News Philadelphia some of its most precious pieces.
One of those is a version of the Declaration of Independence, "probably a day or two before it's finalized," said the historical society's librarian and CEO David Brigham.
One thing that makes this version different is that it was printed with notations from Thomas Jefferson, including quotations around the phrase "all men are created equal."
"When Jefferson put things in quotes, it meant he was going to read this out loud, and he was going to lean into those words," Brigham said.
The historical society has thousands of documents it's ready to showcase in 2026, like handwritten letters from George Washington during the revolution and the first draft of the U.S. Constitution.
"They wrote 'freedom of speech' and they put a checkmark next to it, which meant that's important and we need to get back to that," Brigham said.
The historical society also showed us how past centennial celebrations have played out. First, the Centennial of 1876 brought the U.S. its first world's fair.
"When the Centennial opened in May all the way until it closed at the end of the year, 10 million people had come through Philadelphia," Selena Austin, who works at the historical society, said.
The Bicentennial 100 years later in 1976 was clouded by protests from a combination of groups.
"People from all walks of life gathered in Philadelphia on July 4, 40,000, and marched in protest of the Bicentennial celebration," Austin said.
While these pieces give us a glimpse of the past, leaders at the historical society say they hope people will use them as guidance for how to move forward.
"Understanding the past, analyzing the past, helps us think about where we're going and how we're going to get there," Brigham said.
