On July 4 we celebrate Independence Day — the formal adoption of our Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the first step in turning the 13 colonies of England into the United States of America.
When the Founding Fathers declared their independence, they didn’t form the United States of America. The U.S.A. would not officially come into being until March 1, 1781, when the Second Continental Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation.
In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million. The nation’s population in 2018 is 326 million.