On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. This event marked the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation. However, it is important to note that July 4, 1776, was not the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence, nor was it the day the American Revolution started, or the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. The actual date on which the Declaration was signed was August 2, 1776. Nonetheless, July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and on the handwritten copy that was signed a month later in August. It was also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. After the War of 1812, the Fourth of July became the most important secular holiday on the calendar, and Congress passed a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870.