56 delegates to the Continental Congress signed the engrossed Declaration of Independence. Most of the signers voted in favor of independence on July 2nd. Some delegates who voted for independence did not sign the Declaration, and some signers were not delegates to Congress at the time of the vote. John Hancock (1737-1793) • State: Massachusetts Hancock, a Massachusetts native who studied business at Harvard College, was the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence The Want, Will, and Hopes of the People Declaration text | Rough Draft | Congress's Draft | Compare | Dunlap Broadside | Image | Scan Born on April 13, 1743, near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was the primary drafter of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States. He described the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as "these fragile objects which bear so great a weight of meaning to our people." The story of the Declaration of Independence as a document can only be a part of the larger history, a history still unfolding, a "weight of meaning" constantly, challenged, strengthened, and redefined. The signers’ names are grouped by state, with the exception of John Hancock, as President of the Continental Congress; the states are arranged geographically from south to north, with Button Gwinnett from Georgia first, and Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire last. Brief but detail-rich biographies of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Independence, document approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. On July 2 the Congress had resolved that ‘these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.’ Signers of the Declaration of Independence Download this Information in PDF Format Citation: Engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence, August 2, 1776; Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, Record Group 360; National Archives. Declaration of Independence, printed by John Dunlap, July 4, 1776, Records of the Continental and Confederation On August 2, 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress, including John Hancock, the President of the Congress, began signing the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—written largely by Jefferson—in Philadelphia on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence. Welcome to ushistory.org's Declaration of Independence website, providing a wealth of information about the Declaration, biographies of all the signers, lesson plans for introducing students to the colonial and revolutionary eras of American history, and much more. Where is the original Declaration? The original Declaration is now exhibited in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in The Declaration of Independence is the foundational document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it explains why the Thirteen Colonies decided to separate from Great Roger Sherman (1723-1793) —Roger Sherman was a member of the Committee of Five that was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence. He and Robert Morris were the only individuals to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. He was the Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut from 1766-1789, a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 The Signature of John Hancock was the first to be added to the Declaration of Independence. The following chart provides the names of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence and the American colonies that they represented. Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original. 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: The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence risked their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the cause of American liberty. They ranged in age from 26 to 70, came from diverse backgrounds, and would pay varying prices for their courage. August 2, 1776 is one of the most important but least celebrated days in American history, when 56 members of the Second Continental Congress started signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
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