250 Years Ago: A Resolution for Independence

Richard Henry Lee’s formal statement to Congress ignited a fierce debate that set the stage for American independence.

The Declaration of Independence lithograph, circa 1850, by Napoleon Sarony after John Trumbull. National Museum of American History. Public Domain

A courier arrived in Philadelphia on Monday, May 27, 1776, bearing a dispatch from Williamsburg, Virginia, with critical instructions for the colony’s congressional delegation. It would change the course of history.

Although the contents were read aloud to the assembly, an official motion was withheld by the Virginians while they coordinated their strategy with New England’s radicals.