Resolved, Unanimously, July 9, 1776

On July 9, 1776, Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt and ten other Westchester County deputies met at the Court House in White Plains to vote on the Declaration of Independence. They convened as part of "the Provincial Congress of the Province of New-York" at a critical moment in American history.

New York's position held special significance because its Philadelphia delegation had abstained from the July 2 independence vote, preventing unanimity. A committee chaired by John Jay reviewed the Declaration and reported unanimously that the Continental Congress's reasoning was "cogent and conclusive." The body approved the resolution and ordered the Declaration "published to the beat of a drum" throughout New York. Five hundred copies were printed by John Holt; today only five known copies survive.

The engrossed vellum copy produced in August 1776 added one crucial word: "unanimous" in the heading, reflecting New York's crucial support.