The 1976 United States Bicentennial took place in 1976, marking 200 years of American independence.
The Bicentennial commemorated the Declaration of Independence adopted in 1776. Nationwide celebrations included parades, exhibitions, performances, educational projects, commemorative objects, and special designs on U.S. coins and postage stamps. The observance was intended to involve communities throughout the country rather than only the historic sites of the Revolutionary era.
The 1976 milestone provided an important model for America250. Both celebrations use a round-number anniversary of the 1776 independence declaration, but they differ by 50 years and by anniversary name: bicentennial means 200 years, while semiquincentennial means 250 years.
The Bicentennial is sometimes confused with the 1975 anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. In 1975, events such as Lexington and Concord’s 200th anniversary began a broader commemorative period, but the national Bicentennial year was 1976.