On April 19, 1775, when the Battles of Lexington and Concord started furnished clash among Britain and the 13 settlements (the core of things to come United States), the Americans asserted that they looked for just their privileges inside the British Empire.
On April 12, 1776, the progressive show of North Carolina explicitly approved its agents in the Congress to decide in favor of autonomy. On May 15 the Virginia show educated its delegates to offer the movement—"that these United Colonies are, and of right should be, free and autonomous States"— which was presented in the Congress by Richard Henry Lee on June 7. John Adams of Massachusetts supported the idea.
Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee, representation by Charles Willson Peale, 1784; in Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia.
tates of America." It was likewise put on material, presumably by Timothy Matlack of Philadelphia. Individuals from the Congress present on August 2 attached their marks to this material duplicate on that day and others later.