IndependenceIndependence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a dependent territory. The commemoration of the independence day of a country or nation celebrates when a country is free from all forms of foreign colonialism; free to build a country or nation without any interference from other nations.
United States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence, headed The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the founding document of the United States. It was adopted on July 4, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. The declaration explains to the world why the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule.
List of sovereign states by date of formationBelow is a list of sovereign states with the dates of their formation (date of their independence or of their constitution), sorted by continent. This list includes the 195 states which are currently full member states or observer states of the United Nations. This does not include extinct states, but does include several states with limited recognition. For proposed states or various indigenous nations which consider themselves still under occupation, see list of active autonomist and secessionist movements.
SecessionSecession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals. It is a process, which commences once a group proclaims the act of secession (e.g. declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the creation of a new state or entity independent from the group or territory it seceded from.
