Through heat, storms and division, how America marked its 250th

Fireworks burst above marbled monuments honoring America's forefathers for roughly 40 minutes as sun-drenched and rain-soaked Americans watched. The past-midnight display sparkled above the National Mall and on screens across the United States, marking the final note of America's 250th birthday celebrations.

From New York to California, people poured into city plazas, backyard barbecues, beaches and local bars on the Fourth of July for the super-sized anniversary. A massive heat wave brought stifling triple-digit temperatures and severe weather advisories to much of the country, wreaking havoc on Fourth of July festivities.

Many Americans didn't let the sweltering heat or stormy skies stop their party.

As rain pummeled the lawn in front of the Hatch Shell in Boston, thousands crammed underneath a nearby tunnel to stay dry. Huddled together, some began singing "God Bless America"; others chanted "USA." When the storm let up and police allowed attendees back to their seats, cheers erupted.

The show went on in the nation's capital, too. Nearly all programming for President Donald Trump's five-hour Freedom 250 "Salute to America" event was scrapped when an approaching storm forced guests inside nearby museums and federal office buildings.

After more than an hour sheltering from the rain in the Ronald Reagan Building, Nadine Szewczyk, 67, decided to head back to her hotel. Her day had not gone as planned.

She had discovered the "perfect" vantage point to watch the morning's parade when she found out it was canceled due to extreme heat. Then the thunder and lightning started. Szewczyk weighed whether to go back through security to watch the event once the storm stopped.

"I'm exhausted," said Szewczyk, who traveled to Washington, DC, from Albany, New York. "I'm not standing in line again."

Trump took the stage after 11 p.m. to a still sizable but slimmed down crowd. He delivered a meandering speech highlighting American history, military veterans, his political ambitions and policy priorities.

"For two and a half centuries, our American republic has stood as the grounding achievement of human history," Trump said, walking through the country's achievement from the Revolutionary War to his presidency.

"You're very special people, and we have a very special country," he added, looking out at the crowd.

‘It's a historic moment'

Earlier in the day, crowds decked out in red, white and blue gathered in grassy parks along the Hudson River in New York City to watch the parade of tall ships. Revolutionary War reenactors flooded the streets of Boston. In Philadelphia, lawmakers lowered into the ground a time capsule – a gift to future Americans.

Balancing on a light pole in New York's Battery Park, Elver and Vanessa Radke attempted to glimpse the tall ships' white sails.

"We're here to celebrate the 250-year anniversary and everything that comes with it," Elver Radke said. "Freedom and liberty."

At the crack of dawn in San Francisco, hundreds schlepped picnic blankets and lawn chairs to a beach beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, attempting to secure a front-row spot for the night's fireworks.

"It's a historic moment," said Bill Avera, who left his home in Hollister, California, at 6 a.m. with his wife, Julie, and traveled 98 miles for the event.

His plans were similar to those of most Americans: "barbecue and watch the fireworks."

Signs of division show through

Yet, for some Americans, the anniversary served only as a reminder of the country's deep political polarization.

In Washington, DC, hundreds of masked members of a White supremacist group known as the Patriot Front marched through the streets the morning of July Fourth chanting "reclaim America" and carrying Confederate flags.

The group, already one of the largest White supremacist organizations in the country, is quickly growing its membership, at a time when hate crimes are on the rise.

Elsewhere, some Americans said Trump's handling of the country made it difficult to relish the country's 25 milestone.

In Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed two and a half centuries ago, protesters from around the country gathered for a demonstration against Trump and the war in Iran.

Lindsay Knapp, who served in the U.S. Army, traveled from South Carolina to show other veterans that their voices matter.

"We're trying to mobilize a community of love," Knapp said.

As the sun rose in Louisville, some gathered at Historic Locust Grove, a green expanse where famous Americans like Meriwether Lewis and William Clark once met, to celebrate the United States' diversity.

"Some people do not feel real patriotic right now," said Jessica Dawkins, president and CEO of Historic Locust Grove. "We wanted to become a place where people could come together in unity, and respect, and connection with the land that has supported us all these years."

Joanie Prentice, one of the attendees, said she loved the "peacefulness and the simplicity of it."

Americans united for a day

As the sun set on the West Coast, people decked out in patriotic garb flowed into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for America's Block Party Benefit Show. The event was put on by America 250, a bipartisan commission tasked with planning the country's 250th anniversary.

As they waited for the concert to kick off, eventgoers participated in two of the nation's favorite pastimes: playing cornhole and drinking beer.

Geovanni Agramonte, of Lakewood, California, thought of his family in Cuba and his feelings about the United States.

"They're suffering right now," he said, "so just the freedom that we have here to just live our lives and try to be a good person and succeed … I think that's what I like about it, it's just the freedom that you have to live your dreams."

His wife of 41 years, Nancy Agramonte, said there was one thing she'd change.

"We're pretty divided right now. So, just to see everybody communicate – from a political standpoint, from a nation standpoint – just really come together," she said.

An NBC poll published July 4 found nearly 80% of Americans were willing to put aside their political differences to celebrate the nation – at least for a day.

A PBS News/NPR/Marist poll published days earlier found more than a third of Americans believe their neighbors might need to resort to violence to steer the nation toward the founding ideals laid out by the men enshrined in marble monuments.

Standing on the National Mall in the afternoon, before storm delays and fireworks, Donald Rasdall and Betsy Green peered at the history around them. The engaged couple from Orlando pick a different city to visit each Fourth of July.

For America's 250th birthday, they knew the nation's capital was the only option. They commented on the way people seemed to look out for one another in the heat, passing out water while in the line to enter the Great American State Fair.

"Everybody is the same today," Green said. "Everybody is an American."

Contributing: Amethyst Martinez, Noe Padilla, Phaedra Trethan, Ruby Grisin, Bailey Allen, Christopher Cann, USA TODAY

Karissa Waddick covers America's 250th anniversary for USA TODAY. She can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Through heat, storms and division, how America marked its 250th

Reporting by Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 8:33 AM.