What should future Americans know about life in 2026? A bipartisan group of lawmakers offered its answer Wednesday, unveiling a congressional time capsule on Capitol Hill as part of the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration.
The capsule, which will be sealed for 250 years until July 4, 2276, includes a variety of items that reflect and commemorate who the nation is today.
“This is our opportunity to share what America looks like today [and] what we hope the future holds for this great country that we are truly blessed to call home,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said. “The congressional time capsule is a reflection of our faith in the future of this grand experiment of self-governing.”
Among the lawmakers in attendance were Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Shelley Capito (R-WV), and Rep. Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
Each of the lawmakers spoke about the significance of the Declaration of Independence and the meaning behind the capsule, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) adding that items in it “embody today’s American experience.”
“Two hundred fifty years from now, Americans will open this capsule, the snapshot of history, and better understand our values, our accomplishments, our hopes, our dreams, and our aspirations,” Jeffries said.
The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act required the architect of the Capitol to create the capsule honoring the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with it to be buried in the Capitol Visitor Center.
A joint letter from congressional leadership and “such other contents” lawmakers determined are in the capsule, but it remains unclear what other items were sealed away, according to the bill.
On July 4, 2276, the time capsule will be unsealed by the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader to be presented to the 244th Congress.
Jeffries said his “hope” is that when the capsule is opened, people will “learn” from what was placed inside.
“I hope that when members of the 244th Congress open this time capsule and view the items that we have placed inside of it, they’ll be able to learn from our history, our experiences, and our values and carry that with them as they work to ensure that the next 250 years in American history might be even better than the 500 that will have passed,” Jeffries said.
The capsule is 4 feet wide, 2.5 inches deep, and 4 feet tall. On the front, there is a passage from the Declaration of Independence.
Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin said the capsule needed to be this big to “tell the story” of Congress and the American people.
“For those who have the privilege to work here at the Capitol, you get a sense that you are just one chapter of a long history book,” Austin said. “In fact, it is a symbol of American history.”
Austin also discussed the history of the Capitol, highlighting that the country’s first president, George Washington, laid the Capitol’s cornerstone 233 years ago.
“Since then, the Capitol has grown and expanded,” Austin said. “It is that foundation created by George Washington and by Congress for this building and our nation that has endured for 250 years and will endure for the next 250 years and beyond.”
As Johnson explained, this is the second time Congress has “prepared and sealed” a time capsule for future Americans.
In 1876, Civil War widow Anna Deihm created a time capsule containing items she collected during the country’s centennial celebration and wanted it saved for the then-president to open at the country’s bicentennial.
Deihm’s safe included photographs and autographs of public figures, gilded pens and inkstands belonging to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and others, a bound volume containing the names of more than 80,000 government employees, a temperance manual, and a letter from President Rutherford B. Hayes, according to the Office of the Historian.
While the House agreed to accept Deihm’s commemorative safe, the Senate rejected it. Still, it was ceremoniously closed in 1876 and placed in the National Statuary Hall with Hayes and Vice President William A. Wheeler in attendance. The safe stayed in the hall briefly, moving outside near the Capitol’s east portico for the next 80 years.
President Gerald Ford opened it on July 1, 1976, during a ceremony, saying, “There is no safe big enough to contain the hopes, the energies, the abilities” of the country.
“Our real national treasure does not have to be kept under lock and key,” Ford said.
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The 119th Congress’s time capsule comes ahead of numerous America 250 events beginning this week for the nation’s anniversary, including President Donald Trump’s rally, the Great American State Fair, and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
Another time capsule was also sealed in honor of the anniversary and will be buried on July 4 at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by America250, a nonpartisan organization tasked with organizing events celebrating America’s 250th birthday.