Which body adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, setting the anniversary date for America250?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, setting the anniversary date for America250.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War. On July 4, 1776, its delegates approved the Declaration, which announced that the Thirteen Colonies considered themselves free and independent states.

The First Continental Congress had met in 1774 to coordinate colonial resistance to British policies. It did not declare independence. The Constitutional Convention, meanwhile, met in 1787 and produced the United States Constitution.

The Declaration’s adoption, rather than the later signing of the parchment copy, is the event commemorated by Independence Day and the 250th-anniversary observance. The document was drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson after Congress appointed a five-member committee.