en bound to Great Britain, and to open their commerce, as an
independent people, to all the nations of the world." In April and
May, after the Congress had opened the ports, the tide set strongly and
irresistibly in the direction of the formal declaration. "Every post
and every day rolls in upon us," John Adams said, "Independence like a
torrent." It was on the 7th of June that Richard Henry Lee, in behalf
of the Virginia delegation and in obedience to the instructions from the
Virginia Convention, moved "that these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent State...; that it is expedient
forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign
Alliances;... and that a plan of confederation be prepared and
transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and
approbation."

The "resolution respecting independency," debated at length, was
postponed till the 1st of July, when it was again brought up for
consideration. It was still, on that day, opposed by many, chiefly by
John Dickinson, who now said that he should not be against independence
ultimately, but that he could not consent to it at the present moment
because it would serve to divide rather than to unite the colonies. At
the close of the debate on the 1st of July, there seemed little prospect
of carrying the resolution by a unanimous vote. The Delaware deputies
were evenly divided, the third member, Caesar Rodney, not being at the
moment in Philadelphia; the Pennsylvania deputies were opposed to the
resolution, three against two; while the New York and South Carolina
deputies were not in a position to vote at all, having, as they said,
no instructions. The final vote was therefore again postponed until the
following day.

Which of the deputies slept this night is not known. But it is known
that Caesar Rodney, hastily summoned, mounted his horse and rode
post-haste to Philadelphia, arriving in time to cast the vote of
Delaware in favor of independence; it is known that John Dickinson
and Robert Morris remained away from Independence Hall, and that James
Wilson changed his mind and voted with Franklin and Morton; and it is
known that the South Carolina deputies came somehow to the conclusion,
over night, that their instructions were after all sufficient. Thus
it was that on July 2, 1776, twelve colonies voted that "these United
Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States."
One week later, the