In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote that "July 2nd 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America."

Close, but not quite, John.  That honor goes to July 4th.  So what happened on July 2nd?  July 2nd was the day the second continental congress voted for independence.  The vote was unanimous, except for New York, which abstained - what's up with that, guys.   Up until researching this I had totally forgotten that the motion for independence...