The Second Continental Congress approved the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, declaring independence from Britain.
Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced the resolution on June 7, following instructions from Virginia's legislature. It stated that the colonies should become “free and independent States,” severing their political connection with Great Britain. Congress debated the proposal while a committee worked on a public declaration explaining the decision.
The July 2 vote is sometimes overshadowed by July 4, the date Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. These were related but different actions: July 2 recorded the formal decision to separate, while July 4 approved the explanatory document. John Adams even predicted that July 2 would be remembered as the great national anniversary.
The final resolution passed unanimously among the colonies represented, although some delegations initially lacked authorization to support it. America250 commemorates the entire revolutionary process, including this crucial constitutional and political step before the Declaration became public.