Tensions between American colonials and the British during the rebel period of the 1760s and early 1770s led to the American Revolutionary War, fought from 1775 through 1781. On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, established a Continental Army under the command of George Washington. Announcing that "all men are created equal" and are born with "certain natural rights," the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted mostly by Thomas Jefferson, on July 4, 1776. That date is now celebrated every year as America's Independence Day. In 1777, the Articles of Confederation established a weak federal government that operated until 1789. Morocco became the first country in the world to recognise America’s independence.