July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted for independence from Great Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining. Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration of independence whose members were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson, well-known to be the best writer of the group, was selected to be the primary author of the document. Congress thought it of the utmost importance that independence be unanimously proclaimed. To ensure this, they delayed the final vote until July 2, when 12 colonial delegations voted in favor of it, with the New York delegates abstaining, unsure of how their constituents would wish them to vote. John Adams wrote that July 2 would be celebrated as the most memorable epoch in the history of America. Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 14:57:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015