I’ve always loved the Fourth of July—the parades, the fireworks, and all the traditions that make it feel like the heart of summer. But as we approach America’s 250th anniversary, this year feels different. It’s more than a mid-summer celebration; it’s an opportunity to reflect on the ideals that shaped our nation and to consider how we carry them forward.
There are countless books about the Founding Fathers, but one of the best ways to understand who they were is to explore what they were reading. If you’d like to take a look at the books that influenced their thinking, consider starting with:
These works helped shape the ideas of liberty, government, and individual rights that still define us today.
Here in Knox County, the Library is marking the occasion with programs for all ages:
The 2:00 Book Club discusses A Girl Named Samson
    Monday, July 6 at 2:00 p.m. | Powell Branch Library
Sharing the Spirit of America – a public reading of the Declaration of Independence
    Wednesday, July 8 at 5:30 p.m. | Cedar Bluff Branch Library
    Thursday, July 9 at 4:00 – 7:00 | Burlington Branch Library 
If you’re feeling creative, you can also enter the Remix the Past Film Contest or try your hand at our 3D Historic Homes Craft Kit. 
However you choose to celebrate, this milestone year is a chance not just to look back, but to reconnect with the ideas that define us—and to imagine how we’ll carry them into the next 250 years.

Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director for marketing, communications and development for Knox County Public Library.

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