What was the name of Philadelphia’s major 1926 celebration of American independence?

Philadelphia’s major 1926 celebration of American independence was the Sesquicentennial Exposition.

The exposition marked 150 years since the Declaration of Independence. It opened in Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration had been adopted, and included exhibition halls, pavilions, entertainment venues, and displays of American industry and culture.

“Sesquicentennial” means a 150th anniversary. The word can be confused with semiquincentennial, which refers to 250 years, or bicentennial, which refers to 200 years. Philadelphia’s 1926 event therefore occupied the anniversary between the 1876 centennial and the 1976 bicentennial.

The exposition was intended to showcase modern American progress while connecting that progress with the Revolutionary era. Attendance and financial results were less successful than organizers hoped, but the event remains a notable predecessor to later national anniversary celebrations.