To many in the Continental Congress, war was unthinkable. So why did they finally create this revolutionary document?

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At 33, Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft of America's historic Declaration of Independence, which was approved by the Continental Congress after several days of debate and revisions on July 4, 1776.

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In This Day in History video clip: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king. This video clip is courtesy of The History Channel.

A report on October 9, 1962, from Uganda describes the country's celebration of independence from Great Britain. The East African region had been a British protectorate since 1894.

As World War II raged in Europe and North Africa, the United States celebrated its Independence Day in July 1941. It was looking increasingly likely that the U.S. would enter the war, and President Franklin Roosevelt delivered an address that equivocated America's own struggle for freedom in the 1700s with the struggle faced by her allies overseas.