In June 1776, Great Britain and its North American colonies had been fighting for over a year. The Americans desperately needed foreign help, particularly from Great Britain’s principal rival, France.

July 1, 1776, witnessed one of the most consequential debates in American history. The venue was the floor of the Second Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The topic was whether America should declare independence. The principal participants were the passionate John Adams of Massachusetts for the affirmative and the eloquent John Dickinson of Pennsylvania for the negative.

This is the first in a series on the Declaration of Independence, written for its 250th anniversary.