Gaspar, El Lugareño
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1. The colonies officially declared independence on July 2
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee’s motion for independence, dissolving the political bands that connected the 13 American colonies to the crown.
July 4 is celebrated as Independence Day because the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, after two days of debating and revising its contents. The Declaration was just a formal statement and explanation of the split effected on July 2, and it seems the founding fathers intended July 2 to be celebrated as Independence Day.
In a July 3 letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams made this prediction: