paragraph_text: The United States Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The Declaration announced that the thirteen American colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain would now regard themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states no longer under British rule. With the Declaration, these states formed a new nation -- the United States of America.

paragraph_text: Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence John Trumbull's painting Declaration of Independence, depicting the five - man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Second Continental Congress Date August 2, 1776 (1776 - 08 - 02) Venue Independence Hall Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Coordinates 39 ° 56 ′ 56 ''N 75 ° 09 ′ 00'' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.948889 ° N 75.15 ° W ﻿ / 39.948889; - 75.15 Coordinates: 39 ° 56 ′ 56 ''N 75 ° 09 ′ 00'' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.948889 ° N 75.15 ° W ﻿ / 39.948889; - 75.15 Participants Delegates to the Second Continental Congress

paragraph_text: On 20 June 1990, Uzbekistan declared its state sovereignty. On 31 August 1991, Uzbekistan declared independence after the failed coup attempt in Moscow. 1 September was proclaimed the National Independence Day. The Soviet Union was dissolved on 26 December of that year.

paragraph_text: The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred (primarily) on August 2, 1776 at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the ``United States of America, ''and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776. The Declaration proclaimed that the Thirteen Colonies then at war with Great Britain were now sovereign states and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. The signers' names are grouped by state, with the exception of President of the Continental Congress John Hancock; the states are arranged geographically from north to south.

paragraph_text: Ben Barnes as Samuel ``Sam ''Adams Marton Csokas as General Thomas Gage Ryan Eggold as Dr. Joseph Warren Michael Raymond - James as Paul Revere Rafe Spall as John Hancock Henry Thomas as John Adams Jason O'Mara as George Washington Dean Norris as Benjamin Franklin Emily Berrington as Margaret Kemble Gage Sean Gilder as Thomas Hutchinson Kevin J. Ryan as John Pitcairn Shane Taylor as Captain Thomas Preston Jimmy Akingbola as Peter Salem

paragraph_text: Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and were no longer part of the British Empire. The Congress actually voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2.

paragraph_text: The dissolution of the Soviet Union was formally enacted on December 26, 1991, as a result of the declaration no. 142-Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The declaration acknowledged the independence of the former Soviet republics and created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), although five of the signatories ratified it much later or not at all. On the previous day, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, resigned, declared his office extinct, and handed over its powers – including control of the Soviet nuclear missile launching codes – to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That evening at 7:32 p.m., the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary Russian flag.

paragraph_text: The National Assembly began the process of drafting a constitution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man, adopted on 27 August 1789 eventually became the preamble of the constitution adopted on 3 September 1791. The Declaration offered sweeping generalizations about rights, liberty, and sovereignty.

paragraph_text: On June 12, 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty. On June 12, 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected the first President. On December 8, 1991, heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords. The agreement declared dissolution of the USSR by its founder states (i.e. denunciation of 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR) and established the CIS. On December 12, the agreement was ratified by the Russian Parliament, therefore Russian SFSR denounced the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and de facto declared Russia's independence from the USSR.

paragraph_text: The text of the ``Declaration of United Nations ''was drafted by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins, while meeting at the White House on 29 December 1941. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France. The first official use of the term`` United Nations'' was on 1 -- 2 January 1942 when 26 Governments signed the Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted. By early 1945 it had been signed by 21 more states.

paragraph_text: The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington - on - the - Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after mistakes were noted in the text.

paragraph_text: It is celebrated on 7 September, the anniversary of the date in 1822 that prince regent Dom Pedro declared Brazil's independence from Portugal. Formal recognition came with a treaty signed by both Brazil and Portugal in late 1825.

paragraph_text: Fourteen men served as president of Congress. The first was Peyton Randolph, who was elected on September 5, 1774. The last president, Cyrus Griffin, resigned in November 1788. President John Hancock is remembered for his large, bold signature on the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted and signed during his presidency.

paragraph_text: The president is the civilian Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. He has the authority to command them to take appropriate military action in the event of a sudden crisis. However, only the Congress is explicitly granted the power to declare war per se, as well as to raise, fund and maintain the armed forces. Congress also has the duty and authority to prescribe the laws and regulations under which the armed forces operate, such as the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and requires that all Generals and Admirals appointed by the president be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate before they can assume their office.

paragraph_text: The Soviet Union was dissolved on December 26, 1991. It was a result of the declaration number 142 - Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The declaration acknowledged the independence of the former Soviet republics and created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), although five of the signatories ratified it much later or did not do so at all. On the previous day, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, resigned, declared his office extinct, and handed over its powers -- including control of the Soviet nuclear missile launching codes -- to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That evening at 7: 32, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary Russian flag.

paragraph_text: The Declaration became official when Congress voted for it on July 4; signatures of the delegates were not needed to make it official. The handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence that was signed by Congress is dated July 4, 1776. The signatures of fifty - six delegates are affixed; however, the exact date when each person signed it has long been the subject of debate. Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams all wrote that the Declaration had been signed by Congress on July 4. But in 1796, signer Thomas McKean disputed that the Declaration had been signed on July 4, pointing out that some signers were not then present, including several who were not even elected to Congress until after that date.

paragraph_text: The Constitution also gives Congress an important role in national defense, including the exclusive power to declare war, to raise and maintain the armed forces, and to make rules for the military. Some critics charge that the executive branch has usurped Congress's Constitutionally - defined task of declaring war. While historically presidents initiated the process for going to war, they asked for and received formal war declarations from Congress for the War of 1812, the Mexican -- American War, the Spanish -- American War, World War I, and World War II, although President Theodore Roosevelt's military move into Panama in 1903 did not get Congressional assent. Presidents have initiated war without Congressional war declarations; Truman called the Korean War a ``police action ''and the Vietnam War lasted over a decade without a declaration of war. In 1970, Time magazine noted:`` All told, it has been calculated, U.S. presidents have ordered troops into position or action without a formal congressional declaration a total of 149 times'' before 1970. In 1993, one writer noted ``Congress's war power has become the most flagrantly disregarded provision in the Constitution, ''and that the`` real erosion (of Congressional authority to declare war) began after World War II.'' President George H.W. Bush claimed he could begin Operation Desert Storm and launch a ``deliberate, unhurried, post -- Cold War decision to start a war ''without Congressional approval. Critics charge that President George W. Bush largely initiated the Iraq War with little debate in Congress or consultation with Congress, despite a Congressional vote on military force authorization. Disagreement about the extent of congressional versus presidential power regarding war has been present periodically throughout the nation's history.

paragraph_text: The Statue of Liberty is a figure of a robed woman representing Libertas, a Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed in Roman numerals with ``JULY IV MDCCLXXVI ''(July 4, 1776), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet as she walks forward. The statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.

paragraph_text: It existed from the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba and the declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in September 1821 until the emperor's abdication in March 1823 when the Provisional Government took power and the First Mexican Republic was proclaimed in 1824. The first and only monarch of the state was Agustín de Iturbide, reigning as Agustín I of Mexico, for less than eight months. The empire was briefly reestablished by the French in 1863.

paragraph_text: On 14 May 1948, on the last day of the British Mandate, Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the state of Israel. In the Israeli declaration of independence, he stated that the new nation would "uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race".

Question: Who plays the man who presided over the body with the power to declare war at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Sons of Liberty?
Answer: Rafe Spall