For America's 250th anniversary, which document did Congress adopt on July 4, 1776?

For America's 250th anniversary, the document Congress adopted on July 4, 1776, was the Declaration of Independence.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and approved the document after debating a draft prepared chiefly by Thomas Jefferson. It announced that the Thirteen Colonies were free and independent states and explained their reasons for separating from Great Britain.

The date is often confused with July 2, when Congress approved the Lee Resolution declaring independence. July 4 marks adoption of the Declaration's final text, not the date when every delegate signed the parchment copy. Most delegates signed that engrossed copy on August 2, 1776.

The document became a foundational statement of American political identity. Its language about natural rights and government by consent later influenced political movements in the United States and abroad.