What founding document did the Second Continental Congress adopt on July 4, 1776, inspiring America250?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, inspiring America250.

The document announced that the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states rather than colonies governed by Great Britain. It also presented a philosophical justification for independence, including claims about natural rights and the right to change oppressive government.

Congress appointed the Committee of Five on June 11, 1776, to prepare the document. Thomas Jefferson wrote the principal draft, while John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston served on the committee and Congress later edited the text.

The parchment copy now displayed at the National Archives was signed primarily on August 2, 1776, although the Declaration had been adopted and sent to the printer on July 4. That distinction explains why adoption and signing are often mistakenly treated as the same event.