The United States declares independence

Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. It had voted for independence on July 2, and most signers added their names later.

Context

The process began in June 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a resolution that the colonies were free and independent states. Congress named a committee of five, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, to prepare a statement explaining the decision, and Jefferson wrote the main draft.

Congress voted in favor of independence on 2 July, with the New York delegation abstaining at first. It then edited Jefferson's text and approved the final wording on 4 July, which is why that date appears on the document. A printed copy was produced and sent out within days.

The large handwritten parchment copy now at the National Archives was prepared later, and most delegates signed it on 2 August 1776. A few signed after that date, and not every signer was present on 4 July.

John Adams expected that 2 July would be remembered as the great anniversary, but the date on the printed Declaration became the one Americans celebrate.

Because the text was copied, printed and read aloud across the colonies in the following weeks, it reached ordinary people quickly, and it later became a model for other declarations of rights and independence around the world.