Congress adopted Richard Henry Lee’s resolution declaring the Thirteen Colonies independent on July 2, 1776.
Lee, a Virginia delegate, introduced the resolution in the Second Continental Congress on June 7. It stated that the colonies should be free and independent states, proposed a foreign-alliance plan, and called for a framework of confederation. Congress postponed final consideration while delegates consulted their colonial governments.
The resolution was adopted on July 2, two days before Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The declaration explained and justified the political decision already made by the Lee Resolution. John Adams believed July 2 would become the great annual independence celebration, but July 4 became the familiar national holiday because it was the date printed on the declaration.
The two dates are therefore not interchangeable. July 2 marks the formal congressional vote for independence, while July 4 marks adoption of the declaration’s final text.