Which founding document does America250 commemorate on its main anniversary date?

America250 commemorates the Declaration of Independence on its main anniversary date.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. The document announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent states and gave a public explanation of their break with Great Britain.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the main text with assistance and review from the Committee of Five and other members of Congress. The document’s opening principles and list of grievances made it both a declaration of political independence and a statement of revolutionary justification.

The anniversary does not mark the signing of the Constitution, which was completed in 1787, or the Articles of Confederation, which served as an earlier governing framework. America250’s central date specifically follows the Declaration’s adoption in 1776.