The United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, the greatest documents ever penned in human history. The U.S. Constitution was written principally by James Madison, and it is the oldest written constitution still used by any nation. It serves as the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. It announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, were now independent states and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America known as Independence Day;is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress. Recently freed from the despotic English monarchy, the American people wanted strong guarantees that the new government would not trample upon their newly won freedoms of speech, press and religion, nor upon their right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures. So, the Constitution's framers heeded Thomas Jefferson who argued: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." The American Bill of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution's first ten amendments became the law of the land.