Dr. Julie Sweet Helms America 250 Celebrations
Baylor has been marking the occasion of America’s 250th anniversary all year long with a diverse array of programming and events, many of which have been led by or contributed to by our very own Dr. Julie Sweet. Below, Dr. Sweet explains her interest in public history, her passion for bringing history alive for students, and the rich learning opportunities this national anniversary presents for students, faculty, staff and the public.
How did you come to be involved in Baylor’s campus-wide America 250 initiative?
I have always been interested in public history and anniversary celebrations, so I had been keeping an eye on the national America 250 program for quite some time. I was really happy to see the announcement last summer that Baylor was creating its own version of that. While I’m not part of that committee, I have been submitting events regularly that they have approved and supported with their badge and other publicity.
What does celebrating America’s semiquincentennial mean to you as a historian of Colonial and Revolutionary America?
This is an amazing opportunity to educate everyone – students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the general public – about this important milestone in our nation’s history, and I am doing everything I can to take full advantage of it!
Can you describe some of the America 250 events you have organized and facilitated such as the public reading of the Declaration of Independence, your Cart Chronicles campus tours, and your Presidents’ Day Celebration collaboration with Baylor Libraries Makerspace (to name a few)?
I try to make History as exciting and interesting as I can because not everyone likes the subject and not everyone learns in the same way. So, I have tried to use “fun” activities to get people’s attention and then sneak in a History lesson. For instance, for Presidents Day, I partnered with Makerspace to have participants create replica campaign buttons from old presidential elections and supplied handouts with facts about those presidents. I have been hosting similar events throughout this academic year to highlight important moments in our nation’s history but to also get students interested in History as a possible major or minor. It has also been a great opportunity to work with other departments and programs across the university like Political Science, Music, Theatre Arts, and others.
Please tell us about your costumed contribution to Baylor Arts and Sciences Cart Chronicles.
I had participated in previous episodes of Cart Chronicles in Fall 2023 as part of the Brazos Tea Party, so I reached out to Christian Clark who oversees social media for the College of Arts & Sciences and asked if he would be willing to do it again. Together, we came up with the Q&A episodes that were dropped this past Fall 2025. We hope to do another one this Spring semester, so stay tuned!
What do you hope students will learn from these events?
History is NOT boring or irrelevant or useless! It shows up in all sorts of places and can be studied in a wide variety of ways. In terms of America 250 specifically, I hope that students recognize just how important this historical event is. Too many people take it for granted, and without it, we wouldn’t have the nation and the freedoms that we enjoy today. I’m not saying that all is well in this country right now, and it never has been. But, we owe those early founders a huge debt of gratitude for taking that chance on independence because if they hadn’t, who knows where we would be today?
Are there other upcoming America 250 events you are excited about sharing with the Baylor family?
Two Big Events come to mind: On Sunday, March 29, History students are partnering with Theatre Arts students to present “1776 & More!” which involves short speeches by various Founding Fathers and selected songs from the musical 1776! And on Friday, April 17, there will be a public reading of the Declaration of Independence just like it was done 250 years ago featuring all kinds of Baylor celebrities including President Livingstone, Coach Aranda, John Morris (“Voice of the Baylor Bears”), and many others. Like all America 250 events, they are free and open to all, so please come!