The Halifax Resolves

North Carolina’s April 12, 1776, action made it the first colony to officially authorize its delegates to support independence from Great Britain. A plaque in the North Carolina State Capitol commemorates the Halifax Resolves and North Carolina’s early call for independence.

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Two hundred fifty years ago, North Carolina made a decision that helped set the United States on the path to independence. On April 12, 1776, delegates meeting in Halifax adopted what became known as the Halifax Resolves, authorizing North Carolina’s representatives to vote for independence from Great Britain. The action made North Carolina the first colony to officially empower its delegates to support a break from the Crown, months before the Declaration of Independence.

As we mark the 250th anniversary of that historic moment, state leaders, historians, and civic organizations are renewing attention on the document’s significance and its enduring place in both North Carolina and American history, helping us connect past actions with their impact today.

For modern readers, the idea of independence may seem straightforward. But at the time, the concept itself was still taking shape. “We think of independence as an everyday word, but they did not know what that meant,” said Bob Rosser, project coordinator for North Carolina’s America250 efforts at the John Locke Foundation. “In the resolve, they called it ‘independency,’ like democracy or another form of government.”

That uncertainty made the decision all the more consequential. Colonial leaders were not simply endorsing a familiar idea—they were stepping into largely uncharted political territory, with no guarantee of success.

“Every colony had to make its own choice. North Carolina could easily have stayed loyal to the Crown, while the colonies from Virginia to Massachusetts fought and won their independence.”

Evidence from the period shows that leaders in the South were already grappling with that decision in early 1776. In a letter written Feb. 12 of that year, John Penn, a member of the Second Continental Congress and future signer of the Declaration of Independence, expressed both confidence and urgency.

“The People to the Northward have Spirit and Resolution, which I doubt not will carry them victorious through this contest. I hope we to the Southward shall act like men determined to be free….”

By April 12, North Carolina’s Provincial Congress answered Penn’s earlier call by adopting the Halifax Resolves. The original text of the historic document reads in part:

“Resolved that the delegates for this Colony in the Continental Congress be impowered to concur with the other delegates of the other Colonies in declaring Independency, and forming foreign Alliances…”

From Battlefield to Political Break

The adoption of the Halifax Resolves did not emerge in isolation. Just weeks earlier, North Carolina Patriots secured a decisive victory at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. Fought on Feb. 27, 1776, near present-day Wilmington, the battle saw Patriot forces defeat a larger group of Loyalists attempting to link up with British troops. The victory disrupted British efforts to regain control of the colony and weakened Loyalist influence in the region.

Historians often point to Moore’s Creek Bridge as one of the first clear Patriot victories of the Revolutionary War in the South and a key factor in emboldening colonial leaders to take more decisive political action.

Rosser said the significance of the victory extended well beyond North Carolina.

“The victory, as word spread, gave other colonies hope and encouragement to keep fighting and keep coming together—that the revolutionary moment was real.”

In the weeks following the battle, that growing confidence translated into political momentum. With British authority diminished and Loyalist resistance weakened, North Carolina’s provincial leaders were in a stronger position to take the step they would formalize in Halifax, authorizing a break from Britain.

The 250th Anniversary

As part of North Carolina’s America250 commemoration, the original Halifax Resolves have returned to the state for the first time since 1776 and are now on public display in Halifax County.

Gov. Josh Stein said the anniversary highlights the state’s early leadership in the push for independence and its lasting place in the nation’s founding story. “North Carolina played a significant role in winning America’s independence,” Stein said. “The creation and adoption of the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776, was the first official action by any colony calling for independence from Great Britain, forever cementing North Carolina’s place in history as ‘First in Freedom.’”

The document is on loan from the National Archives and is believed to be the only surviving copy. It is being exhibited at the Halifax State Historic Site’s visitor center from April 10 through Oct. 6.

This shows that there is much more to our independence than Massachusetts and the battles at Lexington and Concord. The Halifax Resolves, adopted on April 12, 1776, came nearly three months before July 4, 1776.