What document's 250th anniversary is the America250 commemoration marking?

America250 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration announced the colonies’ separation from Great Britain and explained the political principles behind that decision. The Second Continental Congress approved its final wording on July 4, 1776, making that date central to the anniversary.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the document, working as part of a Committee of Five that also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Congress revised Jefferson’s draft before adopting it.

The Declaration is not the same document as the Constitution. The Constitution, written in 1787, established the federal government’s framework. The Articles of Confederation served as the first national governing framework during the Revolutionary era. The Mayflower Compact, signed in 1620, was an earlier self-government agreement among English settlers.