Which document did Congress adopt on July 4, 1776, the anniversary commemorated by America250?

Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the document commemorated by America250.

The Declaration announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent states rather than subjects of Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress approved the final wording on July 4, although the document had been debated and revised over several days. Most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776, so adoption and signing are different dates.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the principal text, while the Committee of Five presented it to Congress. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston served with Jefferson on that committee. The Declaration’s well-known opening statement about equality and rights made it both a revolutionary political announcement and a lasting statement of political ideals.

America250 is therefore specifically tied to the Declaration’s 1776 adoption, not to the Constitution of 1787, the Bill of Rights of 1791, or the Articles of Confederation.