On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming U.S. independence from Britain. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI July 4 (UPI) -- On this date in history: ...

Lee was elected to attend the first Continental Congress in 1774. He was to become the first state senator from Virginia under the newly formed U.S. government.

The first formal step towards American independence came on June 7, 1776, when Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution in the Continental Congress declaring that "these United ...

The one government agency that still reaches nearly every American daily — undeterred by rain, sleet, snow or even gloom of night — turns 250 on Saturday.

On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress convened in secret in Philadelphia, calling for a boycott of British goods and writing a petition to King George III to repeal the Intolerable Acts ...

May 10: Second Continental Congress formed. May 10: Fort Ticonderoga captured from British; Americans’ first offensive victory in Revolutionary War is credited to Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold.

The first flag of the United States was adopted on June 14, 1777. The Continental Congress held a meeting in Philadelphia to pass the Flag Act.