Philadelphia established the USA250 nonprofit in 2011 to promote America’s semiquincentennial.
USA250 was created to lobby for federal support for the United States’ 250th anniversary and to encourage Philadelphia to host major events. The city had a strong historical claim because the Second Continental Congress met there and the Declaration of Independence was adopted there in 1776.
Philadelphia’s role in the anniversary planning predates the federal commission. Congress later established the United States Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016, giving the national commemoration an official congressional planning body. The federal effort and the earlier local nonprofit were related to the same milestone but were not the same organization.
Philadelphia also became the planned home of America250’s national time capsule. These connections make the city especially prominent in anniversary history, though national events and commissions involved communities across the United States and its territories.