Will Amtrak Let The American Freedom Train Roll?

For America’s glorious Bicentennial celebration, a gleaming red, white, and blue steam train traveled across the country with an on-board presentation honoring America’s history and heroes. The American Freedom Train drew huge crowds, over 50,000 at some stops, while many more heard its memorable whistle calling through their towns. Bicentennial committee head John Warner said the train was “certainly the most visible and national” of all the Bicentennial offerings and helped “sew together” locally planned celebrations.

Fifty years later, the Quarter-Millennial version of the American Freedom Train is set to hit the tracks in October and bring the celebration to the people across the following 11 months — but it can only do so if Amtrak will allow it to travel across the country.

Largely the brainchild of John Wayne, the 1970s American Freedom Train helped energize a fractured nation. With the country reeling from Vietnam, race riots, Watergate, and high inflation, the Freedom Train and the rest of the spirted Bicentennial festivities managed something remarkable: They united millions of Americans in a shared celebration of our forefathers and of the great blessings they bequeathed to us.

We are now living at a time that shares a lot of similarities with that Bicentennial era. The country is still reeling from Covid mandates, race riots, the era of peak wokeness, and high inflation. In this context, it is important to get the Quarter-Millennial right and not waste a golden opportunity to remind Americans how fortunate they are to have inherited the blessings of this land and this republic. Indeed, the Quarter-Millennial anniversary of American independence is perhaps the best chance in 50 years to reset how Americans view our nation’s history and heroes.