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Who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776?
Signed by 56 congressional delegates it was, the Declaration of Independence is what set the US on its own path as a country.
On Thursday, July 4, the United States will celebrate its independence from the British crown. Though many believe that the holiday marks the end of the US Revolutionary War, it really celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the formal announcement of the separation of the colonies from Great Britain. New York was the only colony to abstain from the vote of Independence. Not until August of 1776 did the Declaration of Independence have all 56 signatures.
Who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence?
The Declaration was officially written by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The main author of the document was Thomas Jefferson, long touted as the best writer of the group.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
5 facts about the Declaration of Independence that you might not know
1. A Dunlap Broadside is one of the first copies of the Declaration of Independence ever made. How many Dunlap Broadsides were printed remains unclear. John Dunlap was the official printer of the Continental Congress.
2. One of the 25 discovered copies of a Dunlap Broadside was found behind a painting at a flea market that sold for just $4. This was auctioned for $8.1 million and put in the hands of TV producer Norman Lear.
3. During World War II, just after Pearl Harbor, the Declaration of Independence was hidden.
4. Thomas Jefferson was 33-years-old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
5. John Hancock, Congress’ president, and Secretary Charles Thomson are the only names that appear on that first copy of the declaration.
Who signed the declaration?
Fifty-six congressional delegates signed the Declaration of Independence, though not all signed it on July 4th, 1776, as commonly believed. Forty-five delegates were able to sign the declaration on the 4th of July.
- Delaware: George Read, Caesar Rodney, and Thomas McKean
- Pennsylvania: George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, John Morton, Benjamin Rush, George Ross, James Smith, James Wilson, and George Taylor
- Massachusetts: John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, and Elbridge Gerry
- New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, and Matthew Thornton
- Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery
- New York: Lewis Morris, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, and William Floyd
- Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton
- Virginia: Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, and Thomas Nelson, Jr.
- North Carolina: William Hooper, John Penn, Joseph Hewes
- South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, Thomas Lynch, Jr., and Thomas Heyward, Jr.
- New Jersey: Abraham Clark, John Hart, Francis Hopkinson, Richard Stockton, and John Witherspoon
- Connecticut: Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams, and Oliver Wolcott
- Maryland: Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, and William Paca
Where is the Declaration of Independence today?
The Declaration of Independence has lived in the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., since 1952. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights also reside in the museum. They, or very good copies, are all on display for the public to view.