Who introduced the Lee Resolution declaring the American colonies independent from Great Britain?

Richard Henry Lee introduced the Lee Resolution declaring the American colonies independent from Great Britain.

Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress, presented the resolution on June 7, 1776. Its central proposal stated that the United Colonies should be free and independent states, ending political allegiance to the British Crown. Congress debated the measure while a committee worked on a formal declaration explaining the reasons for separation.

Congress approved the independence resolution on July 2, 1776. Two days later, on July 4, it adopted the Declaration of Independence, which gave the decision its famous public document. Thomas Jefferson drafted most of that declaration, but he did not introduce the resolution that formally moved Congress toward independence.

Lee's proposal grew from instructions sent by the Virginia Convention and from increasing support for separation after the Revolutionary War had begun. The distinction between the July 2 decision and the July 4 declaration is a frequent source of confusion: the first was the legal vote for independence, while the second was the explanatory text.