The Lee Resolution formally proposed American independence before the Declaration was adopted.
Introduced in the Second Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, the resolution declared that the United Colonies should be free and independent states. Congress approved its independence clause on July 2, 1776, two days before adopting the Declaration of Independence.
The resolution provided the legal and political decision that the declaration then explained. Congress appointed the Committee of Five to prepare a public justification, producing the document adopted on July 4. This distinction explains why historians often say that the vote for independence occurred on July 2, while the anniversary is celebrated on July 4.
The Lee Resolution was not the same as the declaration. It was a concise congressional motion about political status, whereas the declaration presented a detailed argument, a list of grievances, and an announcement to the world. The resolution takes its name from Richard Henry Lee, who later served as president of the Continental Congress.