The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established in 2016 to plan America250.
Congress created the commission through the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016. Its responsibility was to promote and coordinate observances of the 250th anniversary of American independence and to encourage participation across the country.
The commission is a congressional, nonpartisan body rather than a temporary local festival committee. Its membership has included members of Congress, federal officials, and private citizens. The legislation also directed planning for commemorative activities, coins, stamps, and historically significant locations.
The commission’s organizing members were sworn in at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on November 16, 2018. That location connected the commission’s modern work with the adoption of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.