Page 46 - ASM Book 9/2020

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Halifax Resolves - FirPst in Freedom
Members of the North Carolina Fourth Provincial Congress left the Halifax Courthouse after adopting the Halifax Resolves.
assage of the Halifax Resolves by the North Carolina Fourth Provincial Congress was
the first official call by a colony to support independence from Great Britain. The Resolves instructed the North Carolina delegates to the Second Continental Congress to vote “with the delegates of the other Colonies in declaring Independency” if a resolution were to be proposed.
The Fourth Provincial Congress met
in Halifax County Courthouse from April 4-May 14, 1776. A committee presented the Resolves on April 12, which was unanimously approved by all
83 delegates.
Because of the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina congressional delegates – William Hooper, Joseph Hewes and John Penn – voted “yea” when the Virginia Resolution that granted American
independence from Britain passed Congress
on July 2, 1776. Other colonies
followed North Carolina’s example
over a period of weeks and months
to support independence.
FOrance and Spain Joined American War for Independence
n May 2, 1776, King Louis XVI of France authorized one million livre to purchase arms, munitions, tents and clothing for the American Continental Army. This was the foreign support Congress had been seeking. Two years later, American and French representatives signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. With the first treaty, France recognized America as an independent nation and promoted trade between the two countries. The Treaty of Alliance united them as allies against Great Britain. During the last years of the war, France provided substantial amounts of military supplies and funds, as well as 12,000 soldiers and 32,000 sailors to fight along side the Americans.
At the urging of American representative John Jay, Spain agreed to provide large amounts of money and naval support that helped defeat the British.