Video: 'The Revolution: Declaring Independence' (July 2, 1776, at 25:11)

(Tuesday, July 2, 1776; during the American Revolutionary War and the American Revolution) — The Second Continental Congress voted today to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.

After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author.