The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.
The Second Continental Congress approved the final wording in Philadelphia after months of debate. The document announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent states rather than parts of the British Empire.
July 4 commemorates adoption of the final text, not every step in the document’s creation. Congress voted for independence on July 2, while the wording was edited and formally accepted over the following two days. Most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776.
The Declaration’s anniversary is the historical foundation for America’s 250th-anniversary celebrations in 2026. Its best-known ideas include natural rights and the claim that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed.