WHEREAS, on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, asserting the United States’ independence from Great Britain and setting forth a defining promise of liberty, equality, and self-government; and

WHEREAS, July 4, 2026, marks the 250th anniversary of that historic declaration, known as America’s Semiquincentennial; and

WHEREAS, the American experiment rests on the enduring principle that power rests with the people – not a king – and that liberty is secured through democratic self-government and the rule of law; and

WHEREAS, for 250 years, Americans have sustained that promise through free and fair elections, the peaceful transfer of power, respect for constitutional limits, and a shared commitment to the institutions of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, while the founding promise of liberty and equality was imperfectly realized at our nation’s birth, generations of Maine people and Americans have worked to extend those ideals and their benefits more fully to all; and

WHEREAS, Maine people, then citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, played an early, consequential role in the fight for American independence, including Kittery native William Whipple, the only native Mainer to sign the Declaration of Independence, and the patriots at Machias who captured the British armed cutter Margaretta; and

WHEREAS, on June 21, 1775, soon after the Battle of Bunker Hill, Penobscot Chief Joseph Orono met with General George Washington at Watertown and agreed that his tribe’s warriors, as well as others in the Wabanaki Confederacy, would join forces with the Continental Army to fight a common enemy in the struggle for freedom; and

WHEREAS, on October 18, 1775, British warships shelled and burned Falmouth, now Portland, in retaliation for its resistance to the Crown, an attack that strengthened the resolve of Maine people in support of independence; and

WHEREAS, the sacrifices of Maine people during the Revolutionary War helped secure the freedoms Americans continue to cherish; and

WHEREAS, this once-in-a-generation celebration offers Maine people an opportunity to celebrate our nation’s history, reflect on the contributions and sacrifices of Americans who came before us, and recommit ourselves to the ongoing work of building a more perfect union;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim July 4, 2026 as

America’s Semiquincentennial

throughout the State of Maine, in honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence from Great Britain, and I urge all people to participate in and observe this extraordinary commemoration.

The Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this first day of July Two Thousand Twenty-Six