On what date were the Halifax Resolves adopted?

The Halifax Resolves were adopted on April 12, 1776.

The Fourth Provincial Congress of North Carolina approved the measure while meeting in the town of Halifax. The 83 delegates present unanimously adopted instructions urging North Carolina’s representatives in the Continental Congress to support independence from Great Britain.

The date is important because it places the resolves several months before the Declaration of Independence was formally approved on July 4, 1776. They were among the earliest official colonial actions authorizing a move toward separation, helping create political momentum for the later congressional decision.

The Halifax Resolves should not be confused with the Lee Resolution, which Congress adopted on July 2, or Richard Henry Lee’s motion introduced on June 7. Nor were they the same as Virginia’s later instructions of May 15. Their distinctive date, April 12, is commemorated on North Carolina’s flag.