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