<P> The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the aftermath of armed clashes in April . With all thirteen colonies represented, it immediately began to organize itself as a central government with control over the army and diplomacy and instructed the colonies to write constitutions for themselves as states . On June 1775, George Washington, a charismatic Virginia political leader with combat experience was unanimously appointed commander of a newly organized Continental Army . He took command in Boston and sent for artillery to barrage the British . In every state, a minority professed loyalty to the King, but nowhere did they have power . These Loyalists were kept under close watch by standing Committees of Safety created by the Provincial Congresses . The unwritten rule was such people could remain silent, but vocal or financial or military support for the King would not be tolerated . The estates of outspoken Loyalists were seized; they fled to British - controlled territory, especially New York City . </P> <P> During the winter of 1775--76, an attempt by the Patriots to capture Quebec failed, and the buildup of British forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia, precluded that colony from joining the 13 colonies . The Americans were able to capture a British fort at Ticonderoga, New York, and to drag its cannon over the snow to the outskirts of Boston . The appearance of troops and a cannon on Dorchester Heights outside Boston led the British Army to evacuate the city on March 17, 1776 . </P> <P> On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, voted unanimously to declare the independence as the "United States of America". Two days later, on July 4, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence . The drafting of the Declaration was the responsibility of a Committee of Five, which included, among others, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin; it was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by the others and the Congress as a whole . It contended that "all men are created equal" with "certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", and that "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed", as well as listing the main colonial grievances against the crown . July 4 ever since has been celebrated as the birthday of the United States . </P> <P> The British returned in force in August 1776, landing in New York and defeating the fledgling Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island in one of the largest engagements of the war . They quickly seized New York City and nearly captured General Washington and his army . The British made the city their main political and military base of operations in North America, holding it until late 1783 . Patriot evacuation and British military occupation made the city the destination for Loyalist refugees, and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network . The British soon seized New Jersey, and American fortunes looked dim; Thomas Paine proclaimed "these are the times that try men's souls". But Washington struck back in a surprise attack, crossing the icy Delaware River into New Jersey and defeated British armies at Trenton and Princeton, thereby regaining New Jersey . The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and have become iconic images of the war . </P>

When did the united states get its independence
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