The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. It was an official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from British rule. Show People in the colonies were unhappy that they did not have a say in their government and still had to pay taxes. The Stamp Act of 1765 collected taxes on paper goods like legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards. In one act of protest, men dumped the cargo of a ship full of British tea into Boston Harbor in 1773; this is now called the Boston Tea Party. In 1775, the colonists went to war with Great Britain. The war between the colonies and Great Britain was called the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). A group of men came together in the summer of 1776 to find ways to become independent from Great Britain. The committee included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Writing the Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was originally written by Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Jefferson then worked together to make changes to the document. The final draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, but the actual signing of the final document was on August 2, 1776. Writing and signing the Declaration of Independence took courage, but it was an important step in the founding of our Government. A famous phrase from the Declaration is “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.” Declaration of Independence facts and figures:
To learn more, see The Charters of Freedom and 100 Milestone Documents sites from the National Archives. The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, but it was not signed until almost a month later. The Congress did not have the approval of all 13 colonies until July 9, 1776. On July 19, Congress ordered that an official copy of the document be created. The order called for handwritten ornamental script to be used on parchment paper with the title "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America." Using a quill pen, this took some time to finish. The actual signing finally took place on August 2, 1776. As President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock was the first to sign this historic document. He used large bold script and signed under the text in the center of the page. At that time, a general practice was to sign below text on the right and by geographic location. Using this protocol, signatures of the New Hampshire delegates began the list with the column on the right. Delegates from Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the southernmost states, ended the list with the column on the left. Some of the delegates were not in Philadelphia on that day, but signed the document later. One of the New Hampshire delegates, Matthew Thornton, added his signature later at the bottom of the right column. Not all delegates signed the document. The signers of the Declaration of Independence included future Presidents, Vice Presidents, and members of the United States Congress. Below are the names of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence and the states that they represented: Column 1 Georgia: Button Gwinnett Column 2 North Carolina: William Hooper South Carolina: Edward Rutledge Column 3 Massachusetts: John Hancock Maryland: Samuel Chase Virginia: George Wythe Column 4 Pennsylvania: Robert Morris Delaware: Caesar Rodney Column 5 New York: William Floyd New Jersey: Richard Stockton Column 6 New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett Massachusetts: Samuel Adams Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins Connecticut: Roger Sherman New Hampshire: Matthew Thornton Was the declaration actually signed on July 4?The written Declaration of Independence was dated July 4 but wasn't actually signed until August 2. Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the document, although all were not present on that day in August.
Who actually signed the Declaration of Independence?Signers of the Declaration of Independence. How many actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th?Not every man who had been present in Congress on July 4 signed the declaration on August 2. Historians believe seven of the 56 signatures on the document were placed there later. Two prominent delegates passed up the chance to sign: John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York.
Who drafted the Declaration of Independence on July 4 1776?Written in June 1776, Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, included eighty-six changes made later by John Adams (1735–1826), Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790), other members of the committee appointed to draft the document, and by Congress.
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Who actually signed the declaration of independence on july 4 1776
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