By The Associated Press The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday,

On a hot, steamy day in Philadelphia, a group of delegates to the Continental Congress gathered to celebrate the final approval of the Declaration of Independence.

July 4, also known as Independence Day, marks the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the 13 North American colonies officially separated from Great Britain. As the Fourth of July draws nearer, here's a brief rundown of what happened that day in 1776, approximately 249 years ago.