Congress’s May 1776 resolution urged colonies to adopt republican governments

Evidence

Congress approved Adams’s preamble by a divided vote on May 15 after three days of heated debate between delegates favoring reconciliation and those supporting independence. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 166

Categorization

• XREF: The May 15 resolution is the institutional trigger later invoked in Pennsylvania and the middle colonies; connects to course discussion of how institutional acts drive constitutional change. — connects to: Virginia’s Declaration of Rights grounded revolution in popular sovereignty and natural rights. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 198