The United States Semiquincentennial will mark the Declaration of Independence’s adoption on July 4, 2026.
The date commemorates the Second Continental Congress approving the final wording of the Declaration in 1776. The anniversary is commonly called America’s 250th birthday, although the document announced independence from Great Britain rather than creating the modern constitutional government that came later.
July 4 became the nationally recognized anniversary because it is the date printed on the Declaration and the date Congress recorded its approval. The parchment copy was signed primarily on August 2, 1776, which is why adoption and signing are not exactly the same event.
The 2026 celebration follows the United States Bicentennial in 1976 and precedes the country’s Tricentennial in 2076. America250 is the name associated with the national effort to commemorate this quarter-millennium milestone.