The Lee Resolution was the measure that declared the thirteen colonies independent before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the resolution in the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776. Its central proposition stated that the United Colonies should be free and independent states, no longer subject to the British Crown.
Congress debated the proposal and approved it on July 2, 1776. The Declaration of Independence followed on July 4, providing a formal explanation of the reasons for the separation. John Adams later regarded July 2 as the date that should have been celebrated, although July 4 became the enduring national anniversary.
The resolution is therefore distinct from the Declaration. The Lee Resolution supplied the legal and political decision for independence, while the Declaration announced that decision and presented its justification to the world. America250 marks the 250th anniversary of both the revolutionary decision and the document associated with it.