United States from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill
United States Declaration of Independence that the Declaration of Independence was signed. The adoption of the Declaration of Independence was dramatized in the 1969 Tony Award–winning musical "1776" and the 1972 film version, as well as in the 2008 television miniseries "John Adams". In 1970, The 5th Dimension recorded the opening of the Declaration on their album "Portrait" in the song "Declaration". It was first performed on the "Ed Sullivan Show" on December 7, 1969, and it was taken as a song of protest against the Vietnam War. The Declaration of Independence is also a plot device in the 2004 American film "National Treasure". United