Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain in 1776, an early step toward the independence commemorated by America250. Its legislature acted on May 4, more than two months before Congress adopted the Declaration.
The colony formally ended its allegiance to King George III and removed references to the Crown from its governing arrangements. Rhode Island's action demonstrated that individual colonies could move toward independence before the Continental Congress reached a collective decision.
Other colonies soon adopted similar measures or instructed their delegates to support independence. Virginia's Halifax Resolves, approved on April 12, were the first colonial instructions explicitly authorizing delegates to vote for independence, but Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance itself.
These distinctions matter because local declarations, legislative acts, and congressional resolutions were different kinds of political action. The later Declaration united the thirteen colonies in a single public statement and became the central symbol remembered in 2026.