he United States Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies were independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Declaration, written chiefly by Thomas Jefferson, explained the justifications for breaking away, and was an expansion of the Lee Resolution (passed by Congress on July 2), which first proclaimed independence. An engrossed copy of the declaration was signed by most of the delegates on August 2 and is now on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Declaration is considered to be the founding document of the United States of America, where July 4th is celebrated as Independence Day.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln succinctly explained the central importance of the Declaration to American history in his Gettysburg Address of 1863:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

Labels: United States Declaration of Independence