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Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) delivered a keynote speech at the Concord 250 celebrations marking the semiquincentennial of the start of the Revolutionary War in Concord, Massachusetts.

“What began here in Concord became ‘the shot heard round the world.’ It was more than the start of a war – it was the beginning of an idea. That liberty is worth defending. That government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. That even the smallest towns in the smallest colonies could stir the conscience of a world,” said Congresswoman Trahan.

CLICK HERE to view the full speech. A transcript is embedded below.

The Concord 250 ceremony was hosted at the Old North Bridge in Minute Man National Historical Park, home to the first serious battle of the Revolutionary War. The shots fired in the Battle of Concord were later described by American author Ralph Waldo Emerson as the “shot heard round the world.”

“In every generation, there have been bridges like this one in Concord and like the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where brave Americans marched for civil rights and faced down brutality in the name of justice. Moments that demand to know who we are and what we stand for,” Congresswoman Trahan continued. “So let us meet our moment today. Let us be citizens worthy of this history, and ancestors worthy of remembrance. And let us ensure that two hundred and fifty years from now, when future generations gather at this bridge, they won’t just hear the echo of that first shot – they’ll hear the echo of our voices, rising to say: we carried the promise of a stronger America forward.”

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Congresswoman Lori Trahan

Remarks as Delivered

Concord 250 Ceremony

April 19, 2025

Good morning.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, right here at the Old North Bridge, ordinary people faced an extraordinary choice: monarchy or democracy. They could remain subjects of a distant crown, or risk everything for the idea of self-government.

They chose freedom.

Farmers and blacksmiths, shopkeepers and ministers, teachers and mothers, everyday citizens who had no guarantee of success stood their ground. And when the smoke cleared on that April morning, the first shots of a revolution had been fired.

What began here in Concord became “the shot heard round the world.” It was more than the start of a war – it was the beginning of an idea. That liberty is worth defending. That government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. That even the smallest towns in the smallest colonies could stir the conscience of a world.

But it was never inevitable. The men and women who gathered here were not professional soldiers or political elites. They were neighbors and parents. Workers and worshippers. People with families to protect, farms to tend, and lives to live. And yet, when the moment came, they answered history’s call.

Today, as we mark the 250th anniversary of that defining moment, we gather not just to honor their courage, but to reckon with the responsibility they left us. Because we are the stewards now. Every generation inherits the promise made here in Concord. And every generation must choose what echoes we will send forward.

Will we echo courage or complacency? Unity or division? Will we, like those early patriots, rise together to meet the challenges of our time?

Even our founders knew that the greatest threat to this fragile experiment wouldn’t come from abroad – it would come from within. In fact, when George Washington agreed to attend the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he explained why in a letter to a friend. He warned of “some aspiring demagogue who will not consult the interest of his country so much as his own ambitious views.”

Washington wasn’t worried about the jeweled crowns of foreign kings – he was worried about the domestic ones, those who drape themselves in flags while declaring themselves above the Constitution. That remains our charge today. To ensure that in America, no one, no matter how loud, how wealthy, or how powerful, stands above the law. Because in a democracy, the law, not a single man, is sovereign.

Our union is still imperfect. Our freedoms still tested. But the story of America has always been one of progress – not because the path was easy, but because courage found its way into common hands.

In every generation, there have been bridges like this one in Concord, like the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where brave Americans marched for civil rights and faced down brutality in the name of justice. Moments that demand to know who we are and what we stand for.

So let us meet our moment today. Let us be citizens worthy of this history, and ancestors worthy of remembrance. And let us ensure that two hundred and fifty years from now, when future generations gather at this bridge, they won’t just hear the echo of that first shot – they’ll hear the echo of our voices rising to say: we carried the promise of a stronger America forward.

Thank you.

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