Please define the following key terms.
-July 4, 1776

Question

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The Answer is July 4, 1776, is a significant date in the history of the United States as it marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. On this day, the Second Continental Congress, representing the thirteen American colonies, formally declared their independence from British rule. The key terms associated with this date are:

1. **Declaration of Independence**: This is the document that was adopted on July 4, 1776. It was primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson and declared the thirteen American colonies to be free and independent states, no longer subject to the British Crown. The Declaration outlined the philosophical and legal justifications for independence.

2. **Second Continental Congress**: This was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress and managed the colonial war effort during the American Revolution, moving incrementally towards independence from Great Britain.

3. **American Revolution**: This was the period during which the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, starting with the outbreak of hostilities in April 1775 and continuing until the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Revolution included both the war for independence and the political and social changes that the new American states underwent.

4. **Founding Fathers**: This term refers to the leaders who laid the groundwork for the creation of the United States. They played significant roles in declaring independence, winning the Revolutionary War, and writing the country's founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

5. **Thomas Jefferson**: He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States. Jefferson's eloquent writing in the Declaration has been hailed as a seminal statement of human rights and the inherent equality of all people.

6. **British Crown**: This term refers to the monarchy of the United Kingdom and its predecessors. At the time of the American Revolution, King George III was the reigning monarch. The Declaration of Independence includes a list of grievances against the King and the British government's actions in the colonies.

7. **Thirteen Colonies**: These were the British colonies on the east coast of North America that joined together to form the United States. They were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

July 4th has since become a national holiday in the United States, known as Independence Day, celebrated with fireworks, parades, and other patriotic displays to commemorate the founding of the nation.

Please Define the Following Key Terms