The Lee Resolution , also known as "The Resolution for Independence" , was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, resolving that the Thirteen Colonies (then referred to as the United Colonies ) were "free and independent States" and separate from the British Empire . This created what became the United States of America , and news of the act was published that evening in The Pennsylvania Evening Post and the following day in The Pennsylvania Gazette . The Declaration of Independence , which officially announced and explained the case for independence, was approved two days later, on July 4, 1776.
46-492: The resolution is named for Richard Henry Lee of Virginia , who proposed it to Congress after receiving instructions and wording from the Fifth Virginia Convention and its President Edmund Pendleton . Lee's full resolution had three parts which were considered by Congress on June 7, 1776. Along with the independence issue, it also proposed to establish a plan for ensuing American foreign relations , and to prepare
92-414: A formal declaration so that it would be ready when independence, which almost everyone recognized was now inevitable, was approved. The committee prepared a declaration of independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson , and presented it to Congress on June 28, 1776. The declaration was set aside while the resolution of independence was debated for several days. The vote on the independence section of
138-764: A judiciary, and voting procedures. The final draft of the Articles of Confederation was prepared during the summer of 1777 and approved by Congress for ratification by the individual states on November 15, 1777, after a year of debate. It continued in use from that time onward, although it was not ratified by all states until almost four years later on March 1, 1781. When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, few colonists in British North America openly advocated independence from Great Britain. Support for independence grew steadily in 1776, especially after
184-482: A plan of a confederation for the states to consider. Congress decided to address each of these three parts separately. Some sources indicate that Lee used the language from the Virginia Convention's instructions almost verbatim. Voting was delayed for several weeks on the first part of the resolution while state support and legislative instruction for independence were consolidated, but the press of events forced
230-426: A plan of treaties made its first report on July 18, largely in the writing of John Adams. A limited printing of the document was authorized, and it was reviewed and amended by Congress over the next five weeks. On August 27, the amended plan of treaties was referred back to the committee to develop instructions concerning the amendments, and Richard Henry Lee and James Wilson were added to the committee. Two days later,
276-720: A resolution instructing Virginia's delegates in the Continental Congress "to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain". In accordance with those instructions, on June 7, Richard Henry Lee proposed the resolution to Congress and it was seconded by John Adams. Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to
322-493: A set of three resolutions: one calling for a declaration of rights for Virginia, one calling for the establishment of a republican constitution, and a third calling for federal relations with whichever other colonies would have them and alliances with whichever foreign countries would have them. It also instructed its delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to declare independence. Virginia's congressional delegation
368-488: The Declaration of Independence from King George III . It dominated the convention by a malapportionment that lent an advantage to the slaveholding east. This party likely ensured the continuation of slavery at a time when other states had already begun ending it with gradual emancipation . It ensured the continued self-perpetuating gentry rule of county government with a franchise limited by property requirements underpinning
414-485: The French Arms Tavern , Trenton, New Jersey . Congress convened on January 11, 1785, in the old New York City Hall , with Lee presiding until November 23, 1785. Although he was not paid a salary, his household expenses were covered in the amount of $ 12,203.13. Lee abhorred the notion of imposing federal taxes and believed that continuing to borrow foreign money was imprudent. Throughout his term, he maintained that
460-632: The New York Provincial Congress voted on July 9 to "join with the other colonies in supporting" independence. The Lee Resolution's passage was reported at the time as the colonies' definitive declaration of independence from Great Britain. The Pennsylvania Evening Post reported on July 2: This day the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES. The Pennsylvania Gazette followed suit
506-782: The Virginia Declaration of Rights . The previous Fourth Virginia Convention had taken place in Williamsburg , in December 1775. In Philadelphia , the Second Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander of the Continental Army troops that then surrounded Boston , and Virginia patriots defeated an advancing British force at the Battle of Great Bridge southeast of Norfolk . The newly elected delegates to
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#1732837953236552-625: The Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence), by naming one of his sons after him. Children with Anne Aylett: Children with Anne Pinckard: Lee died on June 19, 1794, at the age of 62. Schools in Rossmoor, California , and Glen Burnie, Maryland are named after him, and Richard Henry Lee School in Chicago is named in his honor. The World War II Liberty Ship SS Richard Henry Lee
598-555: The British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation. Congress as a whole was not yet ready to declare independence at that moment, because
644-461: The British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, but he signed the document when he returned to Congress. Lee was elected the sixth president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30, 1784, in
690-618: The Fifth Virginia Convention re-elected Edmund Pendleton as its president on his return from Philadelphia as presiding officer of the First Continental Congress . The membership could be thought of as belonging to one of three groups: radicals from western Virginia, who had agitated for independence from Britain even before 1775; philosophers of the American Enlightenment ; and wealthy planters, largely from
736-925: The Land Ordinance of 1785 has endured. Lee served in the United States Senate in the First and Second Congresses from 1789 to 1792. In 1792 he became the second president pro tempore , but later that year he was obliged to resign due to his failing health, and he retired from public life. Lee's mother Hannah Harrison Ludwell died in 1750. On December 5, 1757, he married Anne Aylett, daughter of William Aylett . Anne died on December 12, 1768. The couple had six children, four of whom survived infancy. Lee remarried in June or July 1769 to Anne (Gaskins) Pinckard. The couple had seven children, five of whom survived infancy. Lee honored his brother, Francis Lightfoot Lee (another signer of
782-559: The Lee resolution had been postponed until Monday, July 1, when it was taken up by the Committee of the Whole. At the request of South Carolina, the resolution was not acted upon until the following day in the hope of securing unanimity. A trial vote had been tested where it was found that South Carolina and Pennsylvania were in the negative, with Delaware split in a tie between its two delegates. The vote
828-574: The Union Jack from over the colonial capitol and running up a continental union flag, keeping the Union Jack of the British Empire in the canton and adding the thirteen red and white stripes of the self-governing East India Company . On June 7, Richard Henry Lee , one of Virginia's delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia , carried out the instructions to propose independence in
874-478: The committee was empowered to prepare further instructions and report back to Congress. The formal version of the plan of treaties was adopted on September 17. On September 24, Congress approved negotiating instructions for commissioners to obtain a treaty with France, based on the template provided in the plan of treaties; the next day, Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane , and Thomas Jefferson were elected commissioners to
920-431: The conclusion. The final text of the declaration was approved by Congress on July 4 and sent off to be printed. John Adams wrote his wife Abigail on July 3 about the resolution of independence: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as
966-408: The convention approved the first Constitution of Virginia . The convention selected Patrick Henry as the first governor of the new Commonwealth of Virginia , and Henry was inaugurated as governor on June 29, 1776, allowing Virginia to establish a functioning republican constitution a few days before the Second Continental Congress declared their independence on July 4, 1776. The delegates to
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#17328379532361012-422: The court of France. Alliance with France was considered vital if the war with Britain was to be won and the newly declared country was to survive. The committee drafting a plan of confederation was chaired by John Dickinson; they presented their initial results to Congress on July 12, 1776. Long debates followed on such issues as sovereignty, the exact powers to be given the confederate government, whether to have
1058-421: The day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated Independence Day on July 4, the date when the Declaration of Independence
1104-413: The delegates from some of the colonies, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York, had not yet been authorized to vote for independence. Voting on the first clause of Lee's resolution was therefore postponed for three weeks while advocates of independence worked to build support in the colonial governments for the resolution. Meanwhile, a Committee of Five was appointed to prepare
1150-662: The east. A malapportionment of delegates granted disproportionate influence to this latter group. The Convention convened from May 6 to July 5, 1776, at the colonial capitol in Williamsburg . It elected Edmund Pendleton its presiding officer after his return as president of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . There were three parties in the Fifth Convention. The first was mainly made up of wealthy planters, who sought to continue their hold on local government as it had grown up during colonial Virginia's history. These included Robert Carter Nicholas Sr. , who opposed
1196-482: The estate his parents had left behind. In 1757, Lee was appointed justice of the peace of Westmoreland County. In 1758, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses , where he met Patrick Henry . Lee remained a "valuable ally of...Henry and Samuel Adams " throughout the American Revolutionary War . An early advocate of independence, Lee became one of the first to create Committees of Correspondence among
1242-542: The expansion of the Land Ordinance of 1784 and Thomas Jefferson 's survey method; namely, "hundreds of ten geographical miles square, each mile containing 6086 and 4-10ths of a foot" and "sub-divided into lots of one mile square each, or 850 and 4-10ths of an acre" on April 14. On May 3, 1785, William Grayson of Virginia made a motion, seconded by James Monroe , to change "seven miles square" to "six miles square." The Land Ordinance of 1785 passed on May 20, 1785, yet
1288-401: The federal government lacked the resources to manage the newly surveyed lands. Not only did Native Americans refuse to relinquish their hold on the platted territory, but much of the remaining land was occupied by squatters . With Congress unable to muster magistrates or troops to enforce the dollar-per-acre title fee, Lee's plan ultimately failed, although the survey system developed under
1334-595: The language the convention had commanded him to use: that "these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." The resolution was followed in Congress by the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence , which reflected its ideas. The convention amended, and on June 12 adopted, George Mason 's Declaration of Rights , a precursor to the United States Bill of Rights . On June 29,
1380-654: The many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. In 1766, almost ten years before the American Revolutionary War, Lee is credited with having authored the Westmoreland Resolution against enforcement of the British Stamp Act 1765 , which was publicly signed by prominent landowners who met at Leedstown, Virginia , on February 27, 1766. Among the signers were three brothers and one close cousin of George Washington . In August 1774, Lee
1426-595: The motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence , which he signed. Lee also served a one-year term as the president of the Continental Congress , proposed and was a signatory to the Continental Association , signed the Articles of Confederation , and was a United States Senator from Virginia from 1789 to 1792, serving part of that time as
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1472-402: The next day with its own brief report: Yesterday, the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES. After passing the resolution of independence on July 2, Congress turned its attention to the text of the declaration. Over several days of debate, Congress made a number of alterations to the text, including adding the wording of Lee's resolution of independence to
1518-488: The other less-discussed parts to proceed immediately. On June 10, Congress decided to form a committee to draft a declaration of independence in case the resolution should pass; the following day, John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , and Robert R. Livingston were appointed as the Committee of Five to accomplish this. That same day, Congress decided to establish two other committees to develop
1564-574: The publication of Thomas Paine 's pamphlet Common Sense in January of that year. In the Second Continental Congress, the movement towards independence was guided principally by an informal alliance of delegates eventually known as the "Adams-Lee Junto", after Samuel Adams and John Adams of Massachusetts and Richard Henry Lee of Virginia . On May 15, 1776, the revolutionary Virginia Convention , then meeting in Williamsburg , passed
1610-482: The republican form of state government. The second party was made up of the intellectuals of the Enlightenment -era lawyers, physicians, and aspiring young men. These included the older generation of George Mason , George Wythe , Edmund Pendleton , and the younger Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . The third party was a minority of young men mainly from western Virginia in present-day West Virginia . This party
1656-503: The resolution of independence and the Declaration of Independence in the Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789 , from American Memory , published by the Library of Congress : Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732 – June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia , best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution ,
1702-483: The resolution's last two parts. The following day, another committee of five ( John Dickinson , Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Benjamin Harrison V , and Robert Morris ) was established to prepare a plan of treaties to be proposed to foreign powers; a third committee was created, consisting of one member from each colony, to prepare a draft of a constitution for confederation of the states. The committee appointed to prepare
1748-814: The second president pro tempore of the upper house. He was a member of the Lee family , a historically influential family in Virginia politics. Lee was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia , to Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee on January 20, 1732. He came from a line of military officers, diplomats, and legislators. His father served on the Governor's council and briefly as an interim governor of Virginia before his death in 1750. Lee spent most of his early life in Stratford, Virginia, at Stratford Hall . Here he
1794-607: The states should relinquish their claims in the Northwest Territory , enabling the federal government to fund its obligations through land sales. He wrote to friend and colleague Samuel Adams: I hope we shall shortly finish our plan for disposing of the western Lands to discharge the oppressive public debt created by the war & I think that if this source of revenue be rightly managed, that these republics may soon be discharged from that state of oppression and distress that an indebted people must invariably feel. Debate began on
1840-582: Was approved, rather than on July 2, the date when the resolution of independence was adopted. The two latter parts of the Lee Resolution were not passed until months later. The second part regarding the formation of foreign alliances was approved in September 1776, and the third part regarding a plan of confederation was approved in November 1777 and finally ratified in 1781. The following are entries relating to
1886-420: Was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . In Lee's Resolution on June 7, 1776, during the Second Continental Congress, Lee put forth the motion to the Continental Congress to declare Independence from Great Britain, which read (in part): Resolved: That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to
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1932-551: Was held on July 2, with critical changes happening between Monday and Tuesday. Edward Rutledge was able to persuade South Carolina delegates to vote yes, two Pennsylvania delegates were persuaded to be absent, and Caesar Rodney had been sent for through the night to break Delaware's tie, so Lee's resolution of independence was approved by 12 of the 13 colonies. Delegates from the Colony of New York still lacked instructions to vote for independence, so they abstained on this vote, although
1978-565: Was led by Patrick Henry and others who supported independence from Britain prior to 1775. On May 15, the Convention declared that the government of Virginia as "formerly exercised" by King George III in Parliament was "totally dissolved" in light of the King's repeated injuries and his "abandoning the helm of government and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection". The Convention adopted
2024-633: Was named in his honor. The Chantilly Archaeological Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. He is portrayed in Sherman Edwards ' 1969 musical 1776 . Fifth Virginia Convention The Fifth Virginia Convention was a meeting of the Patriot legislature of Virginia held in Williamsburg from May 6 to July 5, 1776. This Convention declared Virginia an independent state and produced its first constitution and
2070-400: Was the only one under unconditional positive instructions to declare independence; Virginia was already independent of Parliament as the "fourth realm" of British Empire , but its convention did not want their state, in the words of Benjamin Franklin , to "hang separately." According to James Madison 's correspondence for that day, Williamsburg residents marked the occasion by taking down
2116-473: Was tutored and taught a variety of skills. To develop his political career, his father sent him around to neighboring planters with the intention for Lee to become associated with neighboring men of like prominence. In 1748, at 16, Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, to complete his formal education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield . Both of his parents died in 1750. In 1753, after touring Europe, he returned to Virginia to help his brothers settle
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