The year 2026 marks the 250 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — our
national birth certificate and mission statement. Throughout 2026, half of my “Lederer on
Language” columns will be about American history, starting with this one.

Over the course of this year, I hope that my new series will lead you to think about the
strands of human history that have been woven together in our country’s grand tapestry and
about what kind of social fabric you want to leave to those who come after us.

“E pluribus unum. Out of many, one,” declares our Great Seal. We Americans are shaped
by a myriad of backgrounds, but we are one people. Newscasters and politicians amplify
divisions in America. But if you look, you’ll see there’s a lot more that binds us together than
separates us.

We are not a people made from a single stock. Rather, we are a medley of colors, races,
religions, and ethnicities. President George H.W. Bush said, “This is America — a brilliant
diversity spread like stars, a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” President
Barack Obama added, “Our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of
Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language
and culture, drawn from every end of this earth.”

So, what are the ties that bind together a country as vast and diverse as ours? You might
think our language unites us, but in fact, we have no official language; we speak all the
languages of our planet. Walking down the street in any American city, you may hear Spanish
(our second most spoken language) or Chinese or Yiddish or any of the more than 500 other
tongues spoken in the United States.

Many immigrants fled to America to escape poverty, famine, war, and religious
persecution. Others were forced here against their will, bound in chains. America is a nation
peopled by the world. We share our republic with many men and women who may look different
from us, speak a language different from ours, and pray in a way that may be foreign to us.
Within the lifetime of young people today, Americans of European ancestry will become a
minority. Indeed, we will all be minorities. What, then, holds us together in this vast and varied
land of ours?

The one thing all Americans have in common is our history. It doesn’t matter if you’re a
first-generation or 12 th -generation American. You own our history. That’s the glue that holds us
together as a people. If you don't know where you came from, you won't know who you are, and
you won’t know where you’re going. Most of us learn some of that history in school. Then, like
so many other facts that we acquired there, the chronicle of our national adventure fades into the
background of our lives.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress tests what American students are
learning and not learning and acts as “the nation’s report card.” Results of the NAEP surveys
show that the two worst subjects for American students are Civics and American History. NAEP
and other reports have found that only 7 percent of eighth graders can identify the three branches
of government (executive, legislative, and judicial). One quarter of high school students said that
Columbus set sail after 1750. One third couldn’t name the century in which the Revolutionary
War was fought or the nation from which we gained our independence (18 th century, Great
Britain).

Only 7 percent could name the first four presidents of the United States in order
(Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison), and only 21 percent know that the faces of George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved into
Mount Rushmore.

Despite the dismal statistics above, 52 percent of Americans can name at least two
members of the cartoon Simpsons’ family. (Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie; your faithful
columnist has never missed an episode.)

I am creating this sequence of columns in 2026 to help make the knowledge of our
nation’s history at least match our knowledge of the Simpsons. I hope that this series will make
the saga of our United States live for you — that you’ll think more about the diverse people who
have gone before us and worked so hard to bequeath us a united, spirited, and enchanting country
blessed with the gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.