The Lee Resolution formally declared the Thirteen Colonies independent from Great Britain before the Declaration was adopted.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the resolution in the Second Continental Congress. Congress approved it on July 2, 1776, stating that the United Colonies were free and independent states and that political ties with Great Britain should be dissolved.
The Declaration of Independence followed two days later. Its purpose was to explain and justify the decision already made through the Lee Resolution, including the colonies’ grievances against King George III and their claims about natural rights.
John Adams believed July 2 would become the main annual celebration because it was the date of the independence vote. Instead, July 4 became the celebrated date because it marked adoption of the Declaration’s final text.