Which body adopted the Declaration of Independence, the event commemorated by America's 250th anniversary?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, the event commemorated by America's 250th anniversary.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia beginning in May 1775, after fighting between British troops and colonial forces had already begun. It acted as the governing body for the thirteen colonies during the Revolutionary War and eventually authorized the Declaration.

On July 2, 1776, Congress approved the resolution for independence introduced by Richard Henry Lee. Congress then worked through the wording of the Declaration before adopting the final document on July 4. The two dates are therefore related but not identical.

The First Continental Congress had met in 1774 to coordinate a colonial response to British policies. The Constitutional Convention, by contrast, met in 1787 to draft the United States Constitution. Those bodies are important to American history but did not adopt the Declaration.