Human rights in the United States prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and black sites, and extrajudicial targeted killings (Disposition Matrix). Some observers give the U.S. high to fair marks on human rights, while others charge it with a persistent pattern of human rights violations. The first human rights organization in the Thirteen Colonies of British America, dedicated to the abolition of slavery, was formed by Anthony Benezet in 1775. A year later, the Declaration of Independence announced that the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. The Declaration stated "that all men are created equal, that they are
History of the United States (1776–1789) consent of the governed", as well as listing the main colonial grievances against the crown. July 4 ever since has been celebrated as the birthday of the United States. The Founding Fathers represented a cross-section of Patriot leadership. According to a study of the biographies of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence: The British returned in force in August 1776, landing in New York and defeating the fledgling Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island in one of the largest engagements of the war. They quickly seized New York City and nearly captured General Washington and