Which 1776 document did the Second Continental Congress adopt to announce the colonies' separation from Britain?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, to announce the colonies' separation from Britain.

The document served as a formal explanation of the decision to become independent from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial text as part of the Committee of Five, while Congress debated and revised the wording before approving it. The Declaration cited grievances against King George III and asserted principles involving natural rights and the right of revolution.

The Declaration followed the Lee Resolution, which Congress approved on July 2, 1776, declaring the colonies independent. Those two dates are therefore related but not interchangeable: July 2 marked the independence resolution, while July 4 marked adoption of the explanatory document.

Congress ordered an engrossed parchment copy, which was signed primarily on August 2. John Dunlap printed roughly 200 early broadsides, helping distribute the text throughout the colonies.