Wealth and power: The American experience

These famous American words appear in the first few paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence adopted, in its final form on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. At this time, the war against England had already begun. Battles had been fought at Lexington, Concord, and Breed's Hill. Colonial troops had seized Ticonderoga and Crown Point. George Washington had been named to head the colonial army. Thirteen separate and distinct colonies bound together in one united effort to gain their independence.