The birth of the United States

Today’s event, July 4, 1776: The birth of the United States. It has been 247 years since, during the American Revolution that began in 1765, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, officially giving birth to the United States of America.

Today’s event, July 4, 1776: The birth of the United States

The Declaration of Independence is a document that actually marks the birth and independence of this federation of states, and since that day, the 4th of July has been a national day for the United States, namely: Independence Day. At the Convention of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, 13 British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America declared their independence from the British Empire, explaining the reasons that prompted them to do so.

The Declaration of Independence is the real beginning of the revolution

Although there had already been some clashes between the rebellious colonists and the British army, the Declaration of Independence marked the true beginning of the American Revolution, which ended in 1783 with the victory of George Washington’s Continental Army over the forces of King George III. The meeting of the Philadelphia Congress chaired by John Adams, one of the key American leaders who fought for independence, was a pivotal moment in the colonists’ struggle against Great Britain. Then this state of affairs gave rise to a real revolution aimed at overturning the established policy, putting at the fore the rights of the settlers, which until then had not been respected by the motherland.

Declaration of Independence: Document

The document, which was requested and written by Thomas Jefferson, was not exactly intended to prescribe a new form of government, and therefore should not be confused with the future Constitution of the United States of America. Rather, the aim was to bolster domestic support for one’s battle, and thus to encourage intervention in one’s favor by some of the European powers, notably France, who later joined the conflict. The Declaration was written by the so-called Committee of Five, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, who was chiefly responsible for drafting the first draft, and then: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Although two days earlier, on Tuesday, July 2, the Second Continental Congress had voted to approve the resolution of independence proposed by Richard Henry Lee. The document was officially ratified on hemp paper on the evening of Thursday, July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia’s Congressional Hall.

55 other signatures

Fifty-five delegates from the Second Continental Congress, dubbed the “Founding Fathers,” joined in the following days to place their signatures alongside that of politician John Hancock, the charter’s first signatory. In the same document, the king was accused of being the only link between the colonists and Great Britain. The original of the Declaration, rendered almost illegible, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, a museum that houses many official and unofficial documents of the events that marked US history. The Declaration of Independence is displayed to the public along with the US Constitution.