The Lee Resolution was the resolution Congress passed on July 2, 1776, declaring the colonies independent.
It was named for Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, who introduced it after receiving instructions from the Virginia Convention. Its central clause stated that the United Colonies were free and independent states and that their political connection with Great Britain should be dissolved.
The resolution was not the same document as the Declaration of Independence. Congress approved the Lee Resolution's independence section on July 2, then continued debating the formal declaration that explained the reasons for separation. The Declaration was approved two days later, on July 4.
The resolution also proposed foreign alliances and a plan of confederation, but Congress considered those parts separately. The date July 2 later became less prominent in public celebrations because Americans adopted July 4, the date associated with approval of the Declaration, as Independence Day.