In honor of our nation's 240th birthday, here are 12 facts you need to know about the founding of the United States.
1. The original thirteen colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island.
2. The English were not the first to settle the New World, however. The Spanish founded St. Augustine, Florida in 1565, more than twenty years before an Englishman set foot in America.
3. On July 4, 1776 after one year of fighting the British in the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Founding Fathers sent it to King George III as a list of complaints against the crown and explanations of the desired freedom of the colonies.
4. Given the design by Francis Hopkinson in 1776, Betsy Ross sews the first official flag for the United States of America, with the famous thirteen stars in a circle representing the original colonies.
5. The Revolutionary War came to and end in 1783 with the United States of America emerging victorious over Great Britain. The two signed the Treaty of Paris declaring peace on September 3rd.
6. Delaware was the first to become an official state in December of 1787, over eleven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
7. The Constitution of the United States was not the first governing rule in the country. Adopted in 1777 by Congress, the Articles of Confederation were ratified by all 13 colonies by 1781.
The Articles did not allow for government interference in the states' affairs; the states remained sovereign, meaning that they were independent from government rule. Congress could not levy taxes or regulate commerce, which lead to many major issues among the states.
8. In 1787, the Second Continental Congress came together to write the official Constitution of the United States. To become the law of the land, nine states had to ratify, or to give their approval to, the document. New Hampshire was the ninth state to agree.
9. Just as Thomas Jefferson is known for writing the Declaration, James Madison is known for writing the Constitution. Both would later serve as presidents, Jefferson from 1801-1809 followed by Madison from 1809-1817.
10. The first ten Amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. They deal exclusively with the basic rights of every United States citizen including the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to a fair trial.
11. Four of the first five presidents were from Virginia. They are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. John Adams, the second president, was from Maryland.
12. Contrary to popular belief, not all faces on US mint are presidents. Alexander Hamilton, the man on the ten bill, was the first Secretary of the Treasury. Benjamin Franklin, the man on the one hundred bill, was a key member of the Founding Fathers whose ideas helped shape the modern government.
