America’s 250th anniversary of independence falls on July 4, 2026.
The date commemorates July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. America250 describes the 2026 observance as the United States Semiquincentennial, marking 250 years since that declaration.
The anniversary is specifically tied to the Declaration’s adoption, rather than to the later end of the Revolutionary War or the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The war continued for several years after 1776, and the Constitution was not signed until 1787.
The United States previously celebrated its bicentennial, or 200th anniversary, in 1976. The 2026 observance is therefore 50 years after the bicentennial and 50 years before the nation’s planned tricentennial in 2076.