America's 250th anniversary in 2026 commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The Second Continental Congress approved the document in Philadelphia, then the capital of the revolutionary movement. The Declaration announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent states rather than British colonies. Thomas Jefferson drafted the principal text, working with a committee that included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.
July 4 is the document's formal date and became the celebrated national holiday. A common mix-up is July 2: Congress voted for independence on that day, but adopted the completed Declaration on July 4. The parchment was signed by most delegates on August 2, although the famous date remained July 4, 1776.