The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, but it was not signed until almost a month later. The Congress did not have the approval of all 13 colonies until July 9, 1776. On July 19, the Congress …

The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence included future Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Members of the United States Congress. John Hancock, President of the Second Continental Congress and a Governor of Massachusetts, was the first to sign; he …

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the American colonies fought for independence from Great Britain. After winning their freedom, the former colonies needed to create a new system of government. The powers of the individual states and the …

The Articles of Confederation created a Nation that was "a league of friendship and perpetual union,” but it was the state governments that had most of the power under the Articles, with little power given to the central government. Congress, for example, …

Article I of the document explicitly states the name of the confederation of newly freed colonies as “The United States of America.” Ratification, or official approval of the Articles of Confederation, took four years. Virginia was the first state, in …