Happy 236th Birthday, U.S.A.!
On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia adopted a statement. It announced that the thirteen American colonies, which were then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. The Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2nd to declare independence from Great Britain, over a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The United States of America celebrates its Independence Day on July 4th, the day Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration. Upon approval, a handwritten copy was sent to the local printing shop of John Dunlap. By the next morning, he had produced about 200 copies, which were distributed throughout the colonies. In the days that followed it was published in newspapers. It was read aloud in public squares. Under instructions from Congress, General George Washington had the Declaration read to the Continental A