The Lee Resolution was the resolution Congress passed on July 2, 1776, declaring the colonies free and independent.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed it in the Second Continental Congress on June 7, following instructions from the Virginia Convention. Its first clause stated that the United Colonies were independent states and no longer politically connected to Great Britain.
Congress approved the independence section on July 2 by a vote representing 12 colonies; New York abstained because its delegates had not yet received authorization. The resolution created the political decision for independence, while a separate document explained the reasons for it.
A common mix-up is confusing July 2 with July 4. Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, the date later used for Independence Day. The Declaration incorporated the Lee Resolution’s independence language, helping link the two milestones commemorated during America250.