The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
The building was known in 1776 as the Pennsylvania State House. It became known as Independence Hall because of its association with the Declaration and the founding of the United States.
Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. The document announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as separate states no longer politically subordinate to Great Britain.
Independence Hall is also significant because the Constitutional Convention met there in 1787. Carpenters’ Hall, another Philadelphia landmark, hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774, which is why the two buildings are sometimes confused.