What was the name of the 1976 celebration marking the United States' 200th anniversary, 50 years before America250?

The 1976 celebration marking the United States' 200th anniversary was the United States Bicentennial.

The bicentennial commemorated 200 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. Its central date was July 4, 1976, exactly 50 years before the semiquincentennial date in 2026.

Celebrations took place across the country and included parades, public ceremonies, exhibitions, commemorative coins, and major cultural events. Philadelphia, where the Declaration was adopted, played a particularly prominent role, but the anniversary was designed as a nationwide observance.

“Bicentennial” means a 200-year anniversary, while “semiquincentennial” means a 250-year anniversary. The two names are easy to confuse because both describe major national milestones, but they refer to different anniversaries separated by half a century.