When the Congress reconvened on September 5, 1775, in the State House, King George III had already issued a proclamation (August 23, 1775) declaring that “open and avowed rebellion” existed in the colonies. This and other actions of the King, as well as the publication in Philadelphia of Thomas Paine’s _Common Sense_, caused public sentiment in favor of independence to grow rapidly in 1776. It was a difficult task, however, to overcome the reluctance of the conservative delegates to make an open break. [Illustration: _Silver inkstand, still preserved in Independence Hall, used during the signing of the Declaration of Independence._] [Illustration: _City Tavern, where the delegates to the First Continental Congress gathered, on the morning of September 5, 1774, prior to their formal assembly at nearby Carpenters’ Hall._ Engraving after William Birch, 1799. Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.] [Illustration: _Carpenters’ Hall, built by the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia, where the First Continental Congress met in 1774._ Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.] [Illustration: _John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777._ Painting attributed to Charles Willson Peale, date unknown. Copy in Independence Hall collection.] Not until June 7, 1776, did Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, acting on instructions from the Virginia Convention, offer a resolution declaring, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States,” and that foreign alliances and a plan of confederation ought to be created. Then, after 2 days of debate, consideration of the resolution was postponed for several weeks. Meanwhile, a committee, composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston was named to draft a declaration “setting forth the causes which impelled us to this mighty resolution.” On July 2, 1776, Lee’s resolution was adopted after a heated debate in which Adams played a dominant role. Two days later, the Congress formalized this act by adopting the Declaration of Independence. On August 2, after it had been engrossed, the document was signed by most members of Congress. These drastic and irrevocable actions, in effect, marked the end of British authority in the American colonies and the birth of the United States of America.