Twelve colonies voted in favor of independence on July 2, 1776; New York abstained because its delegates lacked authorization to vote yes.
The vote concerned the Lee Resolution, introduced by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee, which proposed that the colonies become free and independent states. Congress treated each colony as one voting unit, regardless of the number of delegates in its delegation.
The outcome was not assured at first. South Carolina and Pennsylvania initially voted against independence, Delaware’s two delegates were deadlocked, and New York abstained. South Carolina changed its position, Pennsylvania’s John Dickinson and Robert Morris abstained, and Caesar Rodney’s arrival broke Delaware’s tie. Those changes produced twelve affirmative colony votes.
Congress formally approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, after adopting the independence resolution. The familiar celebration on July 4 therefore commemorates the Declaration’s adoption and publication, even though the decisive independence vote came two days earlier.