To my dear readers:
It has been a while. Where did we leave off? My editor asked me to write a reflection on 250 years of the American experience and to situate it, in some way, within the context of the relationship between the United States and Spain or, more broadly, the transatlantic relationship. All of this in 800—or 1,200—words. An ambitious task in which I will surely fall short in one way or another, but I’m already a month behind, so here goes.
Let’s make one thing clear: the United States of America is, at its core, an idea that sprang to life thanks to the courage, creativity, and convictions of our founding fathers. The proof that this country is an idea is precisely what we celebrate on the Fourth of July. The American War of Independence began, in fact, in 1775 with the battles of Lexington and Concord. The military conflict itself ended in 1781 with the Battle of Yorktown, and the war officially concluded in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.
“Our founding document was built more on hope for the future than on the reality of the moment”
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Ultimately, our founding document was shaped more by hope for the future than by the realities of the time. That is one of the defining features of this country: its greatest visionaries have always been dreamers who looked forward, determined to forge a future that would surpass even their own dreams.
This is the country of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, among other founding fathers. But it is also the country of Crispus Attucks, a former enslaved person and sailor of Indigenous American and African descent, who was the first American to die in the Boston Massacre of 1770. The poet John Boyle O’Reilly remembered him as “the first to defy, the first to die”. Our independence was also possible thanks to other brave figures, such as James Armistead Lafayette, a enslaved man who served as a spy for George Washington’s Continental Army and who volunteered under the orders of the Marquis de Lafayette. There are also figures like Abigail Adams, wife of founding father John Adams, whose letters to her husband—while he sat in the Continental Congress and served as an overseas ambassador—had a profound influence on his thinking. Adams’s counsel to his husband reminds us that when someone serves in a war, their family makes a great sacrifice as well.
Founders were complex figures. Thomas Jefferson condemned slavery in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence, but that passage was removed from the final text. Jefferson himself, as is well known, owned enslaved people. Slavery was, without a doubt, the original sin of the United States.
It took a new generation of founding mothers and fathers to grapple with this issue over the years, among them President Abraham Lincoln, President Ulysses S. Grant, and the famed abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass. Over time, many Americans have had to fight for their civil rights, whether through peaceful protests or by taking their cases to court and lobbying Congress to advance their demands.
From the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 in New York; to Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama; to the Delano grape strike of 1965 or the East Los Angeles student protests of 1968; to the Stonewall riots of June 28, 1969; and to the Long March of 1978, Americans have long organized themselves and fought for their rights. The courage of past generations and the ongoing vigilance of today’s Americans have given rise to landmark legislative and judicial advances.
“The courage of past generations and the ongoing vigilance of today’s Americans has led to fundamental legislative and judicial advances”
In essence, the identity of the United States is summed up as a country where people have the capacity to live the life they choose and where their liberties are protected by law. It has taken time for the United States to live up to its founding promise, because this country is not perfect. If no one is perfect, how could a country be? It cannot. But what is perfect are the founding ideals of this nation, and what is truly inspiring is to see how so many people have fought for 250 years to ensure that those ideals, those dreams, and those rights are available to all.
Beyond diplomacy
What does the 250th anniversary of the United States mean for Spain?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. But I do know that we have shared a great deal over time. Others have written at length about Bernardo de Gálvez’s contributions, which have also been highlighted, among others, by the Embassy of Spain here in Washington, D.C. through social media. His contributions were important, yes, but so were the contributions of many other people whose names we do not know, including Americans and Spaniards today.
Perhaps the most important thing at this moment—and perhaps throughout the entire United States–Spain relationship—is the efforts of citizens from both countries to connect with one another. It is wonderful that there are public officials and diplomats dedicated to strengthening the relationship between the two nations, but it is also important to recognize the efforts of students, business leaders, writers, and artists who have helped make the bilateral relationship what it is today.
“It is important to recognize the efforts of students, business leaders, writers, and artists who have helped make the bilateral relationship what it is today”
Programs such as Fulbright and NALCAP, in the United States and Spain respectively, have greatly contributed to fostering understanding between the two countries. Foreign direct investment and trade between the two countries have helped create jobs and prosperity for people on both sides of the Atlantic. Millions around the world have found inspiration reading the works of both Miguel de Cervantes and Ernest Hemingway. And King Felipe VI is a proud alumnus of Georgetown University.
Moreover, roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population speaks Spanish, and the American dollar drew its inspiration from the Spanish real de a ocho. And just a month ago, soccer fans—both American and Spanish—gathered in restaurants, cafes, bars, and community centers across the United States to watch Spain win the World Cup final, with the United States serving as one of the host nations. In short, the stories of the United States and Spain are intrinsically intertwined.
The greatest strength of the U.S.–Spain relationship lies in its people. It is no secret that the ties between the governments of the two countries are navigating a challenging period. Yet, as someone who lived in Spain until last year and who knows many Spaniards living here in the Washington, D.C. area, I remain confident that the best is still to come for the relations between our two nations.
