Who introduced the Lee Resolution that led Congress to declare independence in 1776?

Richard Henry Lee introduced the Lee Resolution that led Congress to declare independence in 1776.

Lee was a Virginia planter and political leader who served in the Continental Congress. On June 7, 1776, he presented a motion stating that the United Colonies should be free and independent states and should end their political connection with Great Britain.

Congress debated the proposal and appointed a committee to consider it. The vote approving independence took place on July 2, while the Declaration of Independence, which explained the decision, was adopted on July 4.

Lee was not the principal author of the Declaration’s text. Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial version for the Committee of Five, and Congress revised it before adoption. This distinction matters because the political motion for independence and the later explanatory document are related but separate parts of the 1776 process.