Which document did the Second Continental Congress adopt on July 4, 1776, helping launch the United States?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, helping launch the United States.

The document announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states rather than parts of the British Empire. Congress approved the final wording in Philadelphia, with Thomas Jefferson serving as the principal drafter and John Adams and Benjamin Franklin among the committee members who reviewed it.

The Declaration followed Congress’s July 2 decision to declare independence. July 4 marks approval of the final text, not the day every delegate signed the parchment. Most delegates signed the engrossed document on August 2, 1776, although additional signatures were added later.

Its best-known section lists grievances against King George III and presents political principles about equality, rights, and government by consent. The Declaration did not itself create the Constitution or establish the later federal government; those developments came years afterward. Its adoption is one of the central events commemorated by America250 in 2026.