As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we will rightly remember the familiar names and places. We will speak of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Valley Forge and the birth of a republic unlike any the world had ever seen.

Those stories deserve their place.

But a mature nation must also tell the history that is too often overlooked, not to diminish America but to better understand it.

The American story did not begin on July 4, 1776. It began thousands of years earlier with Native peoples who built thriving civilizations, cultivated the land, established trade networks and developed rich cultural and spiritual traditions long before European settlement. Their story is not separate from America's history. It is the first chapter.

Nor was the Revolution fought solely by famous statesmen. Farmers, blacksmiths, merchants, ministers, women, enslaved people seeking freedom, immigrants and ordinary families all bore extraordinary burdens. Independence was secured not only by celebrated generals but by citizens willing to sacrifice comfort, wealth and often their lives for an uncertain future.

One of the least discussed realities is that the American Revolution was never universally popular. Historians estimate that a substantial number of colonists remained loyal to the British Crown, while many others tried simply to avoid taking sides. The birth of the United States was neither unanimous nor inevitable. It emerged through fierce debate, division and enormous personal risk.

Another overlooked truth is how fragile the new nation truly was.

The Constitution that Americans now revere........

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