Declaration of Independence
     During the early stages of the American Revolution, settlers fought for their rights within the British Empire. In 1776 the Continental Congress voted in favor of separation. Thomas Jefferson took the lead in writing the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is the document in which American colonists proclaimed their freedom from British rule. The Second Continental Congress, with representatives of the 13 British colonies in America, adopted the declaration on July 4, 1776. The document included an expression of the colonists’ grievances and their reasons for declaring freedom from Britain. The Declaration of Independence’s eloquent rhetoric and political significance rank it as one of the great historical documents. It proclaimed America's new status as an independent nation and laid forth the fundamental political values of the new nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness….”

Betsy Ross
     Betsy Ross managed her husband’s upholstery business after his death in 
1776, and became a maker of United 
States flags. According to legend, 
a committee headed by George 
Washington asked Ross to design
 and make the first American flag in 
1776. 

THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

Benjamin Franklin  
     Benjamin Franklin was a statesman and diplomat for the newly formed United States, as well as a prolific author and inventor. Franklin helped draft, and then signed, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. As a civic leader, he initiated a number of new programs in Philadelphia, including a fire company, fire insurance, a library, and a 
university.

The White House
     White House, official residence of the president of the U.S., built in its original form between 1792 and 1800, and situated at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. Known variously through its history as the President's Palace, the President's House, and the Executive Mansion, the building has always been most popularly known as the White House. This designation became official in 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt had the name engraved on his stationery. It has been the home of every president in American history with the exception of George Washington, who approved the act that led to its construction. 

Liberty Bell
     Liberty Bell, a historic bell in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, rung on July 8, 1776, after the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. . The bell bears the following inscription: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof. Leviticus XXV:X.”     In 1777, during the American Revolution, British troops occupied Philadelphia. The bell was removed from the tower and taken to Allentown, Pennsylvania, for safekeeping. It was returned to Philadelphia and replaced in Independence Hall in 1778.. The bell was moved to its present location in a glass pavilion near Independence Hall in 1976.

George Washington
     Washington, George (1732-99), commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution, and later the first president of the United States. He symbolized qualities of discipline, aristocratic duty, military orthodoxy, and persistence in adversity that his contemporaries particularly valued as marks of mature political leadership.