America 250: Finale -

August 13, 2026
12:00pm - 8:00pm

"A Republic — If you can keep it." Live Public Readings from the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution

On September 17, 1787, as the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia came to a close, Ben Franklin was asked whether the delegates had created a monarchy or a republic. “A republic,” Franklin famously replied, “if you can keep it.” Franklin’s words remind us that self government is fragile and difficult and must be guarded diligently, especially by the governed. In recognition of these existential truths and in the glow of our nation’s Semiquincentennial, OCPL will feature a main exhibit celebrating our relatively young experiment in keeping a republic, exploring 250 years of successes and failures, and, on August 13 at noon, we will invite members of our community to participate in public readings of selections from our most cherished documents: the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.