When did the thirteen American colonies formally declare independence from Britain?
The Declaration of Independence, drafted principally by Thomas Jefferson and approved by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The Lexington and Concord engagement (April 1775) had started the shooting war fifteen months earlier but did not formally declare independence. The Treaty of Paris (September 1783) ended the war and confirmed British recognition. The Constitution (1787, ratified 1788) replaced the earlier Articles of Confederation.
Read the full facts →The American Revolution was the political-military conflict between the thirteen British North American colonies and the British Crown between 1765 and 1783, producing the independence of the United States of America and the most consequential single political event of the late 18th century outside the French Revolution.
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