Which body adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, anchoring America’s 250th anniversary?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, anchoring America’s 250th anniversary.

The congress met in Philadelphia after the American Revolutionary War had begun. It acted as the governing body for the thirteen colonies and eventually approved the formal declaration that announced their separation from Great Britain.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the document, working with a committee that included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Congress debated and revised the text before adopting it on July 4, 1776.

The First Continental Congress met in 1774 and preceded the war, while the Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to draft the United States Constitution. Those bodies are related to the founding era but did not adopt the Declaration.