Editing Second Continental Congress (section)

== The Decision for Independence ==

Through the fall of 1775 and into 1776, sentiment within Congress shifted toward independence. The failure of the Olive Branch Petition, which had sought reconciliation with the Crown, demonstrated that the British government would not negotiate. The publication of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" in January 1776 galvanized public opinion against monarchy and for independence. News of Parliament's Prohibitory Act, which declared the colonies in rebellion and authorized seizure of American ships, convinced many moderates that reconciliation was impossible. By the spring of 1776, instructions from several colonial legislatures authorized their delegates to vote for independence.<ref name="maier">{{cite book |last=Maier |first=Pauline |title=American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence |year=1997 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York}}</ref>

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution declaring "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." Congress debated the resolution for several days before postponing a final vote to allow time for reluctant delegations to receive new instructions. Meanwhile, Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration explaining the reasons for independence. The committee—Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston—delegated the actual writing to Jefferson, who produced a draft that the committee revised before submitting to Congress. On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to approve Lee's resolution, and on July 4, after further debate and revision, approved the text of the [[Declaration of Independence]].<ref name="maier"/>