July 4th 1776 the Declaration of Independence which was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson was adopted in 1781 the Continental Congress was disbanded and replaced by the confederation of Congress which had much more Authority than their predecessors and became the most powerful political entities When the continents arrived in what we call today the United States they built it and stablished colonies from those colonies the first 13 states were established most of these states pretty much ran themselves by their own governments however they were still had to answer England and her laws the system was used extensively and very quickly after it was made available to voters.