Mike Parker: Declaration came in response to Lee Resolution
As we approach July 4th this year, we are especially drawn to remember the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. But we must never forget that no document exists in a vacuum. Jefferson and the committee that worked on the Declaration of Independence were carrying out a charge they received after the Second Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution on June 7, 1776.
That resolution, presented by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, came in response to instructions of the Virginia Convention. The Lee Resolution contained three parts: a declaration of independence, a call to form foreign alliances, and “a plan for confederation.” The resolution read:
“Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought 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 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.”
To execute the individual tasks outlined in the resolution, on June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed three concurrent committees: one to draft a declaration of independence, a second to draw up a plan “for forming foreign alliances,” and a third to “prepare and digest the form of a confederation.”
The backdrop to the resolution was that a significant number of colonists came to believe reconciliation with Great Britain was not possible. After fighting broke out in Massachusetts in the spring of 1775, King George III declared the colonists “in a state of open and avowed rebellion.”
For the first time, many colonists began to consider cutting ties with Britain.
The colonists elected delegates to attend a Continental Congress that eventually became the governing body of the unified colonial resistance during the Revolution.
At its second meeting, convened in Philadelphia in 1775, the delegates to Congress adopted strict rules of secrecy to protect the cause of American liberty and their own lives. In less than a year, most of the delegates abandoned any hope of reconciliation with Britain.
The Second Continental Congress passed the final version of the Lee Resolution, also known as “The Resolution for Independence,” on July 2, 1776. That resolution asserted that the 13 British colonies in America were “free and independent States,” separate from the British Empire.
When we read “state” today, we think in terms of states such as Virginia or North Carolina. What the Second Continental Congress asserted was that the colonies were “free and independent states.” They used the term to mean “countries.” For example, the U.S. Secretary of State does not deal with matters related to the 50 U.S. states. The Secretary of State deals with other countries.
On June 10, Congress decided to form a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence in case the resolution should pass. On June 11, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed as the Committee of Five to produce the Declaration.
On June 10, Congress decided to establish two other committees to develop the last two parts of the resolution. On June 11, another committee of five, composed of 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.
Congress created a third committee, consisting of one member from each colony, to prepare a draft of a constitution for the confederation of the states. 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 over the plan for confederation followed, including issues such as sovereignty, the exact powers to be given to the confederate government, whether to have 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.
Independence and all its moving parts did not happen overnight. Even in the earliest days of our fledgling nation, debate and compromise fostered our independence.
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
