Where were United States Semiquincentennial commissioners sworn in on November 16, 2018?

United States Semiquincentennial commissioners were sworn in at Independence Hall on November 16, 2018.

The Philadelphia building was chosen for its exceptional connection to the nation’s founding. The Second Continental Congress met there when it adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the Constitutional Convention later used the building while drafting the United States Constitution.

The ceremony also marked the commission’s first organizing meeting. The body had been established by Congress to plan and promote observances of the 250th anniversary of American independence, then eight years away.

Independence Hall is frequently confused with nearby Congress Hall, another important Philadelphia building. Congress Hall served as the meeting place of the United States Congress from 1790 to 1800, but it was not the location of the 2018 swearing-in ceremony.