<P> Independence Day , also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth , is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 , 1776 . The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation , the United States of America , and were no longer part of the British Empire . The Congress actually voted to declare independence two days earlier , on July 2 . </P>
who did the united states win its independence from
the British Empire