Which body adopted the Declaration of Independence, whose anniversary America250 commemorated in 2026?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, whose anniversary America250 commemorated in 2026.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War. On July 2, 1776, it approved the Lee Resolution declaring the United Colonies independent. On July 4, it adopted the Declaration of Independence, the document that publicly explained the break with Great Britain.

Thomas Jefferson drafted most of the Declaration, working with the Committee of Five and receiving revisions from Congress. The document announced political separation while presenting arguments about natural rights and legitimate government.

The First Continental Congress had met in 1774 to coordinate colonial resistance, but it did not adopt the Declaration. The Constitutional Convention met later, in 1787, and produced the U.S. Constitution. America250 focuses on the 1776 independence milestone rather than the later constitutional founding.