For America250, which document announced that the Thirteen Colonies were free and independent states?

The Declaration of Independence announced that the Thirteen Colonies were free and independent states.

Adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1776, the document explained why the colonies were breaking their political connection with Great Britain. Its conclusion claimed that the new states had the power to make war, conclude peace, form alliances, and conduct commerce.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft while serving on the Committee of Five, which also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Congress edited Jefferson’s work before approving the final text. The document therefore represented a congressional act, not solely the work of one author.

The Declaration is different from the Constitution, which established the framework of the federal government in 1787. It is also different from the Articles of Confederation, the first national governing framework adopted during the Revolutionary era. America250 commemorates the Declaration’s adoption 250 years later.