As our nation marks its 250th anniversary this summer, it is worth reflecting on the principles that have defined American values and success over those two and a half centuries: freedom, liberty, opportunity, and sacrifice.

Of those, sacrifice may not be what first comes to mind when talking about what makes America prosperous, but it is among the key ingredients to what has made our republic great. Every generation of Americans has sacrificed so that the next generation would be better off.

My own life is evidence of that sacrifice.

My birth mother, unable to care for another child, made the incredibly difficult decision to give me up for adoption. Her sacrifice gave me the opportunity to have a better life, and after two months in foster care, I was adopted by two humble, hardworking Ohioans, Jim and Judy Husted. To this day, they embody a timeless American belief: that each generation should sacrifice so the next generation can climb greater heights than those before them.

What I saw growing up in rural Ohio was simple but powerful, and it reflected other communities across America, too. People worked long hours and put aside comfort and leisure so their children could enjoy greater security and prosperity than they had known themselves. It was a quiet but constant commitment to the future.

That commitment has shaped our nation since its earliest days.

In 1620, the settlers at Plymouth endured hunger, disease and death as they ventured into an unknown world seeking religious freedom. Their willingness to endure hardship planted the seeds of a new nation.

In 1776, our founders risked everything to secure independence. When the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, they were wagering not only for themselves, but for their children and generations they would never meet.

At Valley Forge, liberty nearly froze to death. Yet those who persevered did so believing that future Americans deserved the blessings of freedom and self-government.

Beginning in 1861, Americans took to the battlefield against one another and, through the sacrifices of the Civil War, preserved the Union and ultimately abolished slavery. Then they returned to their fields and their towns and sought to continue building a more perfect union — one capable of innovation, lasting growth, and a new hope.

By the late 19th and early 20th century, Americans helped lead another revolution–the Industrial Revolution. In a free nation and capitalist economy, workers and entrepreneurs built new industries, fought for fairer working conditions, and laid the foundations for prosperity that we enjoy today.

America became what former President Ronald Reagan would later call a “shining city on a hill,” as immigrants arrived through Ellis Island and Angel Island carrying little more than hope, determination, and a desire to earn the American Dream for themselves.

During World War II, young men crossed oceans to defeat tyranny while women stepped onto factory floors to build the arsenal of victory. When victory came, they returned home and continued the work of nation-building — raising families, founding businesses, building churches and strengthening their communities.

For nearly two centuries, Americans were focused less on indulgence and more on inheritance. Not inheritance measured in dollars, but inheritance measured in duty — the obligation to leave tomorrow better than today.

Over time, we have drifted away from that mindset. We have become less likely to ask, “What can we build and leave behind for those we love?” and more likely to ask, “What can we claim for ourselves?” Too often, instead of bearing burdens for the next generation, we have passed those burdens on to them.

I believe we only sacrifice for the things we truly love.

That is why it is so important that we teach our children to love this country — not because America is perfect, but because it is ours. It is a nation worthy of gratitude and sacrifice. If we want future generations to preserve what makes America exceptional, they must first understand what generations before them were willing to give to build it.

This country is still worth our sacrifice because our country is exceptional. It’s a country where a newborn like me can begin life in a foster home in Detroit, grow up in the rural Midwest, and have the honor of serving as a United States Senator.

No matter our background — whether we were born into abundance or struggle — we have all inherited a remarkable gift. The freedoms we enjoy today were purchased by the sacrifices of Americans who came before us. We stand on their shoulders.

The question is whether future generations will be able to stand on ours.

Let us not be remembered as the generation that broke a two-century chain of sacrifice and stewardship. Let us be remembered as the generation that strengthened it. The generation that chose responsibility over entitlement, service over self-interest and inheritance over indulgence.

For 250 years, America has endured because ordinary people were willing to do extraordinary things for the common good. If we want this nation to remain strong for the next 250 years, we must reignite that spirit.

We must once again embrace the values that built this nation: sacrifice, honor, duty, gratitude and love of country.

If we do, we will leave our children what every generation of Americans has sought to leave the next — not a perfect country, but a more perfect union.

Jon Husted is one of Ohio’s U.S. senators and a former lieutenant governor under Gov. Mike DeWine.