 Complete the following phrase:  Beyond improving their existing association, the records of the Second Continental Congress show that the need for a declaration of independence was intimately linked with the demands of international relations. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution before the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent; at the same time, he also urged Congress to resolve to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances and to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states. Congress then created three overlapping committees to draft the 