A Reflection on Being at Independence Hall for the Independence Vote Anniversary

That day, John Adams jubilantly predicted to his wife, would be the “most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.—I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by Solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be Solemnized with Pomp and Parade with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” He was not speaking of July 4, but of July 2.

The Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2. John Adams had been working for a long time to achieve this feat and of course he was wild with joy. The reason we celebrate July 4 as America’s birthday is that the congressional delegates approved the Declaration of Independence on that day, making public the news of independence. But for many of the men who voted for independence, July 2 was the monumental historic date. And on July 2 of 2026, 250 years after that vote, I visited Independence Hall and stood in the room where a new nation was born, conceived in liberty.

I felt a shiver of awe and excitement as I stepped into the hall where our Founders debated and approved both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. There was George Washington’s chair on the dais. In 1776, John Hancock would have had a chair there. The room was set up as much as possible the way that we know it was on that momentous July 2 day when the delegations of the 13 colonies declared for independence and became 13 United States.

So if the delegates did not approve the Declaration of Independence until July 4, what exactly was the proposal up for a vote on July 2? It was Richard Henry Lee’s resolution “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.” It was only after the delegations from the different colonies approved this resolution that the Committee of Five (Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston) brought forward the draft Declaration.

Standing in the room, in spite of all the jostling crowd around me, the intervening years faded away and the debate and vote for independence seemed very real indeed. I could close my eyes and almost hear the sounds of the delegates’ voices as they voted for independence. I could imagine Caesar Rodney rushing in from his 18-hour ride to vote for independence and John Adams’ triumphant exclamation when the Lee resolution passed. I could feel the almost electric snapping in the air as those men 250 years ago processed the fact that they had declared a new nation, which would cost many lives and properties before it could truly assert its sovereignty.

At Independence Hall for the 250th anniversary of the Continental Congress voting for independence pic.twitter.com/aFF0eAhjgA
— Catherine Salgado (@CatSalgado32) July 2, 2026

Some of the men who signed the Declaration died during the war. Some of them suffered injury or torture. Some of them lost loved ones or homes. All of them sacrificed something. And 250 years later, the hall where they once debated and discussed the formation of a totally unique nation is haunted by their presence and their legacy. Indeed, I found myself almost speaking aloud a promise to keep fighting for liberty against tyrants both foreign and domestic, as if I could directly address the men who voted for independence.

Many museums and historic monuments have used a catchphrase, claiming that there, “history comes alive.” And today, July 2, at Independence Hall, history truly came alive.

Editor’s Note: Every single day, especially in this 250th year of America’s existence, here at PJ Media, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.

Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its successes. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code AMERICA250 to receive 74% off your membership.