The United States Semiquincentennial Commission was created in 2016 to coordinate planning for America250.
Congress established the commission through the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2016. Its purpose was to promote and coordinate observances of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The commission was not the same as the later private America250 Foundation, although the two organizations worked together. The American Battlefield Trust was selected in 2018 to serve as the commission’s administrative secretariat, helping with staffing, fundraising, reports, and coordination.
The commission’s first organizing meeting took place at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in November 2018. Congress chose that location because it was associated with both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.