Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon honored the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a reading at the Historic Greene County Courthouse in Springfield, Missouri. Nixon, a descendant of Col. John Nixon, who gave the Declaration of Independence its first public reading in Philadelphia in 1776, emphasized the importance of the document in transforming the American people from subjects to citizens.
Celebrating American Heritage
The ceremony, which included patriotic music, historic flags, and an old-fashioned ice cream social, was attended by community members, dignitaries, and local officials, including Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hannaway and State Treasurer Vivek Malek. Former Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft and Max Bacon, a former Democratic state representative and circuit court judge, sang a duet of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” highlighting the bipartisan spirit of the event.
Connie Yen, Greene County’s archives coordinator, provided historical context, pointing out that some of the patriotic songs sung in 2026 weren’t around in 1776. The event concluded with the sound of a church bell ringing, played over the loudspeakers as the crowd exited for general festivities.
Original reporting: Springfield Daily Citizen — read the source article.
