he Declaration of Independence is the usual name of a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4 1776 which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a new nationthe United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence which was unanimously approved on July 2. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself.