Prime Minister Johnson announced his visit, saying, “As America begins its semi-quincentenary celebrations, I am delighted to visit one of the great temples of democracy itself.”
USA TODAY 250th Anniversary Travel Guide and American Stories
USA TODAY celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with travel guides, culture, history and local stories.
WASHINGTON — On January 20, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson will become the first sitting U.S. speaker to address the British Parliament in commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“As America begins its semi-quincentenary celebrations, I am delighted to visit one of the great temples of sophisticated democracy itself, where the principles that started America’s long struggle for freedom are debated,” Johnson said in a statement.
The United States declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 and officially gained independence from the British Empire at the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783.
Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States were born in North America, which was then ruled by European monarchies, and were heavily influenced by the writings of British Enlightenment thinker John Locke when creating their countries’ governments.
Mr Johnson will be the first sitting leader of the House of Commons to address parliament, and his speech follows the tradition of parliaments visiting institutions in London.
On the occasion of America’s Bicentennial in 1976, the British Parliament presented a gold-foil-stamped reprint of Magna Carta to a group of members of the House of Commons during a ceremony at Westminster Hall.
“For generations, the United States and the United Kingdom have stood together as pillars of peace and security,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. “The true source of our strength comes from our common commitment to individual freedom, human dignity and the rule of law, which together form the exceptional collective heritage of the English-speaking world.”
Johnson (R-Louisiana) was invited by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, one of the constituent bodies of the British Parliament.
Mr Hoyle said: “I am pleased to continue to mark this momentous occasion and recognize the enduring close relationship between Parliament and the people.” “Our British Parliament is just a few miles from where transatlantic relations began more than 400 years ago. The courage of our Founding Fathers, who set sail for the New World on the Mayflower, built bridges and connections across the Atlantic that continue to this day.”
Carissa Waddick, who covers America’s 50th anniversary for USA TODAY, can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com.
