The United States will observe the 250th anniversary commemorated by America250 on July 4, 2026. The date marks 250 years since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The anniversary is commonly called the United States Semiquincentennial, although America250 is the branding used for the nationwide commemoration. The date also falls on the 250th Independence Day observed by the United States.
The anniversary is calculated from 1776, not from the later ratification of the Constitution in 1788 or the first presidential inauguration in 1789. This distinction matters because the commemoration focuses on independence and the Declaration rather than the creation of the federal government.
America’s earlier major national anniversaries included the centennial in 1876, the sesquicentennial in 1926, and the bicentennial in 1976. The next major anniversary of this type will be the tricentennial in 2076.