Which document’s adoption is the central historical milestone of America250?

The adoption of the Declaration of Independence is the central historical milestone of America250.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the declaration on July 4, 1776. It asserted that the thirteen American colonies were free and independent states and explained political principles used to justify separation from Great Britain.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the document, with revisions and approval involving the Committee of Five and the Continental Congress. The declaration’s famous opening principles and list of grievances made it both a political announcement and a statement of revolutionary ideals.

America250 does not primarily commemorate the Constitution, which was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788. Nor does it mark the first military clashes of the Revolutionary War, which began at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The specific anniversary is tied to the declaration’s adoption in 1776.