WASHINGTON — Today, Speaker Johnson hosted the unveiling of the Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, which will be sealed for 250 years until America’s quincentennial on July 4, 2276. Speaker Johnson was joined at the unveiling ceremony by Leader Jeffries, Senator Shaheen, Senator Capito, Senator Padilla, Representative Aderholt, Representative Watson Coleman, and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin. Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and Congressional staff also attended the ceremony.
“In many ways, the Congressional Time Capsule is a reflection of our faith in the future of this grand experiment in self-governance, faith that this moment is worth preserving, and faith that the great American story will endure for another 250 years,” Speaker Johnson said.
Watch Speaker Johnson’s remarks here.
Well, thank you so much, Leader Jeffries, Members of the House and Senate, distinguished guests. We have so many staff members here today. It’s a full crowd, and we’re so happy to see you here. It truly is a special occasion, a unique one, obviously. Typically, we gather here in Emancipation Hall to carry on one of the great traditions of this institution. We typically gather here to honor America’s great heroes with the Congressional Gold Medal. Today, however, as you know, we gather for a very different reason, to mark a moment in time, to encapsulate the story of this generation and the 119th Congress with the Congressional Time Capsule.
Now, it takes a lot of work to put something like this together, to coordinate a big endeavor like this, which has collected submissions from every state delegation and from both chambers of Congress. So, I want to thank my colleagues in Congress who served as America 250 Commissioners, the dedicated staff of the Architect of the Capitol, Tom himself, and the many institutional partners for all of their important efforts and work that truly made this day possible.
Now, this is only the second time in the history of our great nation, and it is the greatest nation on the earth, that Congress has prepared and sealed a time capsule for future Americans. And just like our forebearers in 1876 when our nation marked its centennial, this is our opportunity to share what America looks like today and what we hope the future holds for this great country, which we are truly blessed to call home.
In many ways, the Congressional Time Capsule is a reflection of our faith in the future of this grand experiment in self-governance, faith that this moment is worth preserving, and faith that the great American story will endure for another 250 years. When this capsule is finally opened, those Americans will be as distant from us as we are today from the men who signed their names on our Declaration. Just think of it. We don’t know who will be alive at that time. We don’t know what exactly they’ll need or what our country will look like, but we’ll seal this anyway because we have faith. One definition of faith describes it simply as the act of believing something to be true and committing our lives to it. And since the very beginning of our story as a nation, courageous Americans have done exactly that.
When our founding generation waged war to defend their freedom and fight the tyranny of a mighty empire, victory was very far from certain. Those Americans had certainty only in the cause they served. They didn’t know the outcome. They served the cause. And the cause was the timeless self-evident truth, that freedom is the God-given right of all people. Since then, America has endured some tough times, and this experiment has been tested. But in every instance, at every pivotal moment, we have responded as we always have – with faith and courage and good-old American determination.
Today, as we mark this moment in history. We’re counting again on the success of the American cause. We’re counting on the fact that all of us at this consequential hour can meet the challenges of this generation, just as our ancestors did in theirs, and God willing, will meet this moment with faith and courage and determination. And the American men and women who opened this capsule 250 years from now will recognize our faithfulness just as we do, the Founders who proceeded us. And hopefully if we’ve done our duty well, they will say of us: ‘These Americans worked hard, they looked after their neighbors, they loved their country, and they preserved it as the last best hope of men on earth.’ By God’s grace, they will say exactly that of us.
###