Which document is America250 primarily commemorating?

America250 primarily commemorates the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

The document stated that the thirteen American colonies were politically independent from Great Britain. Its second paragraph presents ideas about equality, rights, government, and the people’s authority to alter or abolish destructive government.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the main text, working with a committee that included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Congress revised the draft before adopting the final declaration, so Jefferson was its principal author but not its sole institutional creator.

The Constitution is a different document from 1787 that established the federal government’s framework. The Articles of Confederation preceded it as the first U.S. governing charter. The Treaty of Paris came later, in 1783, when Britain formally recognized American independence.