The Second Continental Congress passed the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776.
Introduced by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee, the resolution declared that the United Colonies should be free and independent states. Congress debated and approved that proposal before it adopted the longer Declaration of Independence on July 4.
The distinction explains a frequently repeated historical point: John Adams believed July 2 should become the principal anniversary because it marked the legal decision for independence. In practice, July 4 became the celebrated date because it marked adoption of the Declaration, the document that announced and explained the break with Great Britain.
The two dates are therefore connected but not interchangeable. July 2 records Congress’s decision, while July 4 records approval of the Declaration’s final text. America250 focuses on the 250th anniversary of this entire sequence of independence-related events in 1776.