Vice President JD Vance spoke about the history of the United States at the parade of tall ships in New York City on Saturday, urging Americans to “reject the two-dimensional view of your country” and criticizing those who “obsessively” focus on “national imperfections.”
Vance spoke at length about the founding of the nation, the leadership of George Washington, and the work of civil engineer James Eads Buchanan. Buchanan designed and built Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River, a historic landmark that still stands today. Vance called it “an impressive feat for a man who had never built a bridge before” and an example of American ingenuity.
“The people who told him, ‘You can’t build the most difficult bridge because you’ve never built a bridge before,’ he said, ‘Yes, I can, because I’m an American, and I’m going to do it myself,'” Vance said. It was the first on the planet, that bridge, to be made of steel, and residents of St. Louis still use that bridge to this very day, nearly 200 years later.”
Vance said stories like Washington’s, Buchanan’s and others show a “common character” that bind Americans together throughout history. He said that “loud voices” who only criticize the U.S. “misunderstand the essence of America,” and called on the crowd to “reject the two-dimensional view.”
“Reject that America is a place for zero-sum thinking, because it is not,” Vance said. “Our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness. Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness.”
Vance ended his remarks by looking to the future.
“All of us have a part, all of us had our part, our role to play in creating 250 years of a proud American story, and all of us will need to do our part to create the next 250 years of American greatness,” Vance said. “So I say to all my fellow Americans: I’m proud of you. Happy birthday, and happy birthday to our great nation. Today, my friends, we celebrate, and tomorrow we get back to work.”
