By Thom Little, Ph.D
You may not be aware of this (if you have been under a rock), but this year, America will celebrate its Semiquincentennial (that sure does not roll off the tongue like Bicentennial). It’s been 250 years since 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence creating the United States of America and declaring its independence from Great Britain. Like many other organizations, SLLF’s programming for 2026 will recognize this milestone.
We will begin with our Spring Leadership Summit to be held in the nation’s Capital city and will focus on the historical and contemporary state of one of the institutions that was a creation of America’s founders: federalism. Having experienced a strong central government before independence (pre-1776) and a weak one with The Articles of Confederation (1781-1787), America’s founders sought to strike a balance between the two by creating a federal system of government where power would be shared by the state and national governments. With our program, “Federalism: Restoring the Balance and Strengthening the State Legislature,” we will explore the intent of those who created this system, its evolution over time, the current challenges and how state legislatures can maintain their rightful place in it.
In early July (6-9), SLLF will once again hold the Melissa Hortman Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia, founded by none other than Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. In addition to attending classes on the campus Jefferson designed, program participants will have the opportunity to visit his home. A few weeks later (July 14-17), we will host the 13th annual Conference of State Majority Leaders in Manchester, Vermont. As part of New York, Vermont was one of the original thirteen colonies. It became an independent Republic in 1777 and was admitted into the United States as the 14th state in 1791. It was also the home of Ethan Allen and the famed Green Mountain Boys who won significant battles before and during the Revolutionary War.
A month later, on August 20-22, we will shift our focus from America’s historic past to its present and future with a program in San Francisco focusing on helping leaders address the many challenges facing the nation today to insure another 250 years of this great experiment. In “Keeping the Republic: Leadership in Turbulent Times,” we will offer strategies for addressing modern day challenges that the founders anticipated (hyperpartisanship, polarization and aggressive executives) and some they could not have envisioned (artificial intelligence, deepfake videos and social media).
In September (13-17), SLLF will host the 34th annual meeting of the National Speakers Conference in Greenville, South Carolina, another state whose leaders were signers of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. Over 200 battles were fought in the Palmetto State during the Revolutionary War, more than in any other state in the nation. Many historians consider the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain to be a major turning point in the War as the Colonial victory signaled a momentum shift in America’s favor.
Finally, we will wrap up the year with our Board Meeting and Leadership Roundtable in Key Biscayne, Florida, on December 4-6. I cannot really think of a link between America’s Semiquincentennial celebration and this meeting except to say that after the challenges our founders faced in Philadelphia in 1776, I am quite sure they would have loved to spend a December weekend in Florida and I’m betting you will too!
Join us as often as you can as we celebrate the past, the present and the future of the United States of America!
