The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence
On this day · 4 July 1776
On July 4, 1776, thirteen British colonies declared themselves free states — and gave the world a creed about equality and consent.
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, severing the thirteen colonies’ political ties to Great Britain.
The vote for independence itself had actually come two days earlier, on July 2, when Congress approved the Lee Resolution. The 4th was the day the delegates finished revising and adopted the explanatory text, largely drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Contrary to popular image, most delegates did not sign on the 4th; the engrossed parchment was signed beginning August 2, 1776.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
The document did more than announce a breakup. It argued that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed and may be replaced when they fail — language that would echo through later revolutions and reform movements far beyond America. July 4 became the young nation’s enduring birthday.
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