Which Virginia delegate introduced the independence resolution later commemorated by America250?

Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced the independence resolution later commemorated by America250.

Lee presented the proposal to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776. It called for the United Colonies to be declared free and independent states, for foreign alliances to be considered, and for a plan of colonial confederation to be prepared. Congress debated the measures rather than deciding every part immediately.

The independence portion passed on July 2, after several colonies received authorization to support it. The vote followed weeks of political pressure, military conflict, and growing support for separation from Great Britain. Congress then appointed a committee to prepare a declaration explaining the decision.

Lee was a prominent Virginia politician and a member of the Lee family of statesmen. He did not write the Declaration’s main prose; Thomas Jefferson drafted that text. Keeping Lee’s resolution separate from Jefferson’s draft helps distinguish the formal decision to declare independence from the document that publicly justified it.