The United States is generally considered to have been founded on July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

Key founding dates

  • July 4, 1776 – Adoption of the Declaration of Independence, widely treated as the “birth” of the United States.
  • September 3, 1783 – Treaty of Paris, where Great Britain formally recognized U.S. independence at the end of the Revolutionary War.
  • September 17, 1787 – Signing of the U.S. Constitution, which created the framework of the modern federal government.

Why July 4 is used

Most history books and public celebrations mark July 4, 1776, as the founding date because that is when the colonies declared themselves independent states and issued the key founding document. Although other dates matter for sovereignty and government structure, the Declaration became the symbolic starting point of the United States as a new nation.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.