A revolution has to start somewhere. On this day in 1776, Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, introduced a resolution in the Second Continental Congress proposing independence for the American colonies. His resolution kicked off the process that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence, but getting there wasn’t easy. In the 1770s, relations between the colonies and Britain were getting tense, to say the least. Still, the notion of separating from Great Britain was far from universally accepted, and many colonists were uncomfortable with the idea of breaking away from the nation they considered their own, especially if it meant a full-scale war breaking out in their backyard. Nevertheless, when the delegates for the Second Continental Congress gathered in May of 1775, many of them were in support of independence. But it wasn’t until Lee, acting under the instructions of his home state of Virginia, brought forth the resolution for independence that the ball got rolling.

The resolution stated, “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.” By the time the resolution was introduced and debates commenced, the clock had been ticking for some time. Just before Congress had convened, hostilities had broken out between colonial militias led by General George Washington and British troops. On June 11, Congress appointed three committees: one to draft a Declaration of Independence, one to create a plan for seeking foreign allies, and one to prepare a plan of confederation, just as Lee’s resolution called for. Then, on July 2, after much debate, the resolution for independence was passed unanimously by 12 of the 13 colonies (New York had abstained). So why is July 4 the national holiday? Because Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was adopted on that day and signed after many changes to the original draft. With as much as Americans like to set off fireworks (we light around 285.3 million pounds of them per year) you’d think we’d take the excuse to have a month-long celebration.

[Image description: Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of Richard Henry Lee, wearing a blue suit.] Credit & copyright: Charles Willson Peale, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
More about this Curio:
Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum: "Richard Henry Lee and The Declaration of Independence."
History: "Lee Resolution presented to Continental Congress."
National Archives: "Lee Resolution (1776)."