The American Research Center in Sofia wishes all Americans a Happy July 4! Independence Day in the United State commemorates the signing on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence, composed by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman, announces the separation of the 13 American colonies from England. It was signed by 56 American patriots with John Hancock's as the most famous signature.

The Declaration begins: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

These words are especially meaningful today, with all the protests and civil wars in North Africa, the Near East and Europe.... Today we celebrate, but we also hope that the civil wars end immediately and that everyone in these regions enjoys these unalienable rights....