The Lee Resolution declared the United Colonies independent on July 2, 1776.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the resolution in the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776, after receiving instructions from Virginia’s revolutionary convention. Its central clause stated that the colonies were free and independent states, separated from Great Britain.
Congress postponed the vote while delegates worked to secure broader support. On July 2, the resolution passed after South Carolina agreed to support it, Pennsylvania’s opposing delegates were absent, and Delaware’s Caesar Rodney helped break a tie. New York’s delegates abstained because they lacked authorization at the time.
Two days later, on July 4, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, which explained and publicly announced the decision. This difference causes a common mix-up: July 2 was the date independence was formally resolved, while July 4 became the celebrated Independence Day. John Adams even predicted that July 2 would become America’s great annual festival.