Continental Congress Resolution on Declaration of Independence Copies

Background. The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies with some executive function that acted as the Provisional Government for the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States, before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The Second Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution for Independence on July 2, 1776, and approved the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4, 1776, proclaiming that the former colonies were now independent sovereign states.

Reported Resolution on Authentic Copies. A legacy record indicates that on January 20, 1777, the Continental Congress approved a resolution that an authentic copy, with the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, be sent to each of the United States. The supplied passages do not contain this resolution or its date; they document only the Congress's July 1776 adoption of the Declaration and its continued operation as provisional government through March 1, 1781. The resolution is therefore presented as reported, not independently verified.

Context and Significance. The resolution, if correctly dated, fell during the period when the Congress governed the war effort and fostered unity among the states; later that year, on November 15, 1777, Congress approved the Articles of Confederation and sent them to the states for ratification. Distributing authenticated copies bearing the signers' names would have reinforced the collective commitment of the states to the independence proclaimed in 1776, though this significance rests on the unverified legacy record.