This Day in History: <br />American Colonies <br />Declare Independence July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence <br />was adopted in Philadelphia <br />during the first <br />Continental Congress. 12 colonies would ratify <br />the Declaration on this day. <br />New York would ratify on the twelfth. Written by Thomas Jefferson, <br />the Declaration was essentially <br />a list of colonist grievances <br />with the British. Jefferson's ideas about equality were <br />borrowed largely from European <br />philosophers, including John Locke. The famous words, <br />"We hold these truths to be <br />self-evident, that all men are created <br />equal ..." would alter the course of human history. The United States would become <br />an independent nation with the <br />defeat of the British and signing <br />of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
