Today, America declared its independence with words that changed the course of history

On this date in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the Pennsylvania State House (later known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, adopted the “unanimous declaration of the united States of America,” announcing to the world that the 13 colonies “are, and of right ought to be free and independent states…absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved…”

Armed skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen had already begun more than a year earlier. By the summer of 1776, fighting had intensified and relations with the British Crown had deteriorated. But that didn’t make drafting the Declaration and gaining the agreement of all the Congressional delegates from the 13 colonies an easy task. It was a long and often contentious process — and even after the delegates agreed, conventions in each of the 13 colonies had to sign on.

The Declaration, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, with revisions by John Adams of Massachusetts and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, was the work product of a committee of five men appointed by the Congress to write the declaration which would be put to a vote of the full Congress.

The delegates approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776. But the famous document we recognize as the Declaration of Independence was not committed to parchment and signed by the Congressional delegates for nearly another month.

Read the full text of the Declaration of Independence here.

Once adopted by Congress, it was hurriedly printed by a Philadelphia print shop for distribution to conventions of the 13 colonies, to gain their official approvals. Over the course of the following week, all gave approval, with New York being the last to assent, on July 9.

On July 13, Congress ordered the document “engrossed on parchment” for signing by every member of Congress. That meant it had to be re-written, by hand, with pen and ink on parchment. According to the National Archives, this was probably done by a man named Timothy Matlack of Pennsylvania, who was the assistant to the Secretary of the Congress Charles Thomson.

On Aug. 2, 1776, the engrossed document was presented to the Congress. It was signed by 56 delegates, starting with President of the Congress John Hancock of Massachusetts , whose large bold signature stands out in the center of the page under the handwritten text, followed by the signatures of representatives of all 13 former colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island Connecticut, New York (including William Floyd of Long Island), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

For more on the history of the Declaration of Independence, visit the National Archives online.

Today, 248 years later, the United States still celebrates that day when the 13 American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, knowing the declaration would surely mean a long and bloody battle with their far more powerful colonial ruler.

The famous words of the Declaration’s preamble still stir American passions today:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

July 4th ceremony to take place in Jamesport at 10 a.m.

The Greater Jamesport Civic Association will host its annual Independence Day ceremonies today at the honor garden on the lawn of the George Young Community Center, located on South Jamesport Avenue and Main Road. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.

Holiday closings and schedule changes

Independence Day is a federal and state holiday. All government offices, banks, the stock exchanges and the post offices are closed. There is no U.S. mail delivery today.

The Long Island Railroad is running on a weekend schedule today. See Ronkonkoma/Greenport branch timetable.

Suffolk County Transit buses will operate on a Sunday schedule today. See Route 92 timetable.