<P> During the American Revolution , the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2 , when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule . After voting for independence , Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence , a statement explaining this decision , which had been prepared by a Committee of Five , with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author . Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration , finally approving it two days later on July 4 . A day earlier , John Adams had written to his wife Abigail : </P>
who did the united states win its independence from
Great Britain