Boston was one of the four leading cities named for United States Semiquincentennial events by the 2016 America250 legislation.
The law directed that anniversary activities receive special focus in Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. These places were selected for their importance to the country’s founding era and Revolutionary history.
Boston’s connection includes the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s ride, and the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord. The city was also a major center of colonial resistance to British rule.
The four-city list does not mean Boston was the sole national host. America250 programs were planned across the United States, while the legislation identified historically significant locations for especially prominent events. Philadelphia was particularly associated with the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, Charleston with the southern Revolutionary struggle, and New York with major colonial and early national history.