Friday July 4th is the 238th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Beginning July 2nd, 1776 the Second Continental Congress announced that all 13 of the original American Colonies considered themselves independent states - no longer part of the British Empire. These states had been fighting with Great Britain for over a year.
Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, and on July 4th, 1776, Congress approved the Declaration. This was the formal explanation why the U.S. Congress declared independence from Great Britain.
There were 56 delegate signatures on the Declaration of Independence, representing the 13 American Colonies. These became our first 13 United States: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and Virginia.
Happy Birthday America