On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee stood before the Continental Congress with a resolution declaring that the united colonies were free and independent states, and that all political connection between them and Great Britain was “totally dissolved.” It also called for foreign alliances and a plan that would become the Articles of Confederation. The Lee Resolution was the culmination of a series of revolutionary measures that had already begun secession from the British Empire. This is the story behind the Declaration of Independence that most people never learn about.