During America250 in 2026, the United States will mark 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
The calculation runs from 1776 to 2026. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration, announcing that the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states rather than colonies of Great Britain.
This anniversary is the reason the commemoration is called a semiquincentennial. The earlier national milestone was the Bicentennial, held in 1976 for the 200th anniversary. The next comparable 50-year milestone will be the 300th anniversary, or Tricentennial, in 2076.
The phrase “250 years of independence” refers to the anniversary of the Declaration, not to every later development in American government. The United States Constitution was written in 1787, eleven years after the Declaration, and the federal government under the Constitution began operating in 1789.