US Independence Day on July 4 The day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was the day the Continental Congress formally declared that the 13 American colonies were no longer subject to British rule. According to Mint, before 1776, the land that became the United States was made up of thirteen British colonies along the eastern coast of North America. Although the colonies had local governments with elected assemblies, they remained under the authority of the British monarchy and Parliament.
