Which document declared the American colonies' independence from Britain in 1776?

• A. The Constitution
• B. The Federalist Papers
• C. The Declaration of Independence
• D. The Articles of Confederation

Answer: (C)

Identifying the document that publicly proclaimed the colonies’ break from Britain in 1776. The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress, announces that the colonies are free and independent states. It set out the philosophy that all people have unalienable rights and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed; when a government fails to protect those rights, the people have the right to alter or abolish it.

The other items serve different purposes: the Constitution provides the framework for the U.S. government (written later, ratified in 1787); the Articles of Confederation created an early, looser union (ratified in 1781); and the Federalist Papers were essays arguing in favor of ratifying the new Constitution.