Where did the Second Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence, the document honored by America250?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence at Pennsylvania State House.

Pennsylvania State House stood in Philadelphia and was later renamed Independence Hall. Congress approved the Declaration there on July 4, 1776, making the building one of the central historic sites associated with America250.

The building’s name changed after the American Revolution, but the colonial name remains important when describing the events of 1776. The same complex also hosted the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when delegates drafted the U.S. Constitution.

A common mix-up is to identify Independence Hall as the place where the document was signed on July 4. The Declaration was adopted there on that date, while most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2. The venue, however, is the same Philadelphia landmark now known worldwide as Independence Hall.