The Lee Resolution formally asserted American independence on July 2, 1776.
Proposed by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee, the resolution stated that the United Colonies were free and independent states and no longer politically connected to Great Britain. Congress approved its independence clause by a vote involving 12 colonies, while New York abstained because its delegates lacked instructions.
Two days later, on July 4, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, which explained the reasons for separation. That later document supplied the date Americans traditionally celebrate.
John Adams expected July 2 to become the great annual festival, but public memory instead attached Independence Day to July 4. The distinction between the resolution and the Declaration is a central America250 fact.