The United States Bicentennial took place in 1976, exactly 200 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776.
The Bicentennial was a nationwide commemoration involving festivals, exhibitions, parades, educational programs and special government projects. The United States Mint issued commemorative coin designs, and the country used the anniversary to highlight both the Revolutionary era and the nation’s subsequent development.
America250 follows that milestone a half-century later. The mathematical relationship is straightforward: 1976 marked 200 years, while 2026 marks 250 years. The 50-year interval between the two celebrations is itself sometimes described as the nation’s semiquincentennial gap.
A common mix-up is treating 1976 as the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. The Constitution was signed in 1787, so its 200th anniversary occurred in 1987. The Bicentennial primarily commemorated independence and the 1776 founding era.