(May 20, 1775), written in Charlotte, North Carolina by a convention of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. These county resolutions, prepared by the elder Ephraim Brevard, were sent by special courier to the Continental Congress. It reads:
We do hereby dissolve the political bands which have connected us with the mother-country, and hereby absolve ourselves from all allegiance to the British crown. … Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and independent people; are, and of a right ought to be, a sovereign and self-governing Association, under control of no power other than that of our God and the general government of Congress; to the maintenance of which we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual cooperation and our lives, our fortunes and our most sacred honor.1717