When Independence Was Declared
In 1976, in honor of America's bicentennial, TIME produced a special issue imagining what the magazine might have reported on if it had been around back in July of 1776. One particular bit of that week's news stood above the rest: "Although independence had been months, even years, in coming, the week's events seemed startling in their sudden finality," the imaginary correspondent reported. "July 2 declared the fact of separation. In another two days, on July 4, the Congress endorsed an extraordinary document, a Declaration that stated the Colonies' numerous reasons for leaving the imperial embrace. That date and that document may eventually loom larger in the American mind than what happened on July 2, for the Declaration, written by Jefferson, endows the revolt with a philosophical foundation and justification."
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