By Geena Monahan-For the North Star Reporter
North Attleborough launched its celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary on Saturday, July 4, with an opening ceremony at Veterans Park.
At the celebration, local and state officials reflected on the nation’s founding, the town’s role in American history and the responsibility of future generations to preserve the ideals established two and a half centuries ago.
Held at noon during the North Attleborough Farmers Market, the ceremony featured remarks from Town Manager Michael Borg, state Rep. Adam Scanlon, D-North Attleborough, and Town Council President Justin Paré, along with a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Town Crier Leo Pusateri and an original poem by the town’s Poet Laureate Kayla Roy.
Borg welcomed residents to what he called “a very special day indeed,” noting that the ceremony marked the beginning of several weeks of events commemorating the nation’s milestone.
“We’re going to think about what happened 250 years ago, when a small group of people here in these 13 colonies decided they wanted to govern themselves,” Borg said. “That decision didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened in places just like this, right here in North Attleborough.”
He reflected on famous words from revolutionary-era figures, including Thomas Paine’s quote that “these are the times that try men’s souls” and Benjamin Franklin’s response after the Constitutional Convention, when he was asked whether the new nation would be a monarchy or a republic.
“‘A republic, if you can keep it,'” Borg said, emphasizing the final phrase. “That’s the part that matters. Every generation has had to answer its own challenges, including ours.”
Quoting President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Borg said a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” is “not a slogan — it’s a job description.”
“Two hundred fifty years ago, they began building something worth keeping,” he said. “We’re keeping it. That’s worth celebrating, and that’s exactly what we’re here to do.”
Pusateri then read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety from a scroll, drawing applause from the crowd gathered in the park.
Scanlon focused his remarks on the broader significance of the Declaration of Independence, describing it as one of history’s boldest political experiments.
“As we commemorate this remarkable milestone, it’s worth asking a simple question: Why did we declare independence?” Scanlon said. “The real answer was much bigger than taxes or the British crown. It was about whether a new idea could succeed.”
Quoting the Declaration’s assertion that “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” Scanlon said it introduced the idea that rights are inherent, rather than granted by government.
He acknowledged that the nation initially failed to uphold those ideals, excluding enslaved people, women and many others from the promises made in 1776, but said the Constitution established a framework that allowed future generations to expand those rights.
“Two hundred fifty years later, that experiment continues today,” he said. “The challenge is still ours — not to agree on every issue, but to deserve a republic where free people can debate their differences and pass this remarkable experiment on to the next generation.”
Paré described America’s founding as an underdog story, when the colonies defeated the British and created a Constitution that gave the young nation the structure to endure.
“The fighting spirit that binds us and flows through us has been the fuel that’s driven American progress, ingenuity and success for 250 years,” Paré said. “The Constitution is the brainwork that enabled our great nation to unleash that spirit and prosper.”
The ceremony closed with an original poem by Roy titled “The Patriot Dream,” encouraging residents to honor the past while they shape the nation’s future.
“Remember, we must do the work today to ensure that we said all that we need to say and to have said it the right way,” Roy read. “One nation indivisible, believing in that patriot dream, together invincible. Still striving to form a more perfect union, creating a country that embraces all its humans. So we must cherish this home of the free, treasure this place that welcomes both you and me.”
She concluded by urging residents to carry the nation’s ideals forward.
“While we remember the past 250 years, so begin to turn the gears of the next centuries. This story, one all our own, our choosing, our truth to be shown,” Roy said. “So today, together, let us decide to move forward with respect, love, light and pride.”