The Lee Resolution formally declared the Thirteen Colonies independent on July 2, 1776, before America250’s central document was approved.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the resolution in the Second Continental Congress. Its independence section stated that the United Colonies were free and independent states, separate from the British Empire. Congress approved that section on July 2, 1776, by a vote representing 12 colonies, while New York abstained because its delegation lacked instructions.
The Declaration of Independence followed two days later. It explained and justified the decision already made through the Lee Resolution, which is why July 4 became the traditional Independence Day rather than July 2.
The resolution originally had two additional parts: proposals for foreign alliances and a plan of confederation. Congress considered those issues separately. The Lee Resolution is sometimes overlooked because the Declaration became the better-known document, but the resolution supplied the formal congressional act of independence.