In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: The Declaration of Independence
Background: The Lee Resolution
Key Players: ‘The Signatories’
Historical Context: ‘They Pledged Their Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honor’
Later Developments: What became of the physical document; the making of a holiday
Reference: Text of the Declaration
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Associated Press
On this Day: Declaration of Independence Published
July 04, 2008 5:00 AM
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress published the unsigned Declaration of Independence. The document would be signed by 56 founding fathers a month later.
Email This30-Second Summary
On July 2, 1776, 12 of the 13 colonies at the Second Continental Congress voted to pass the Lee Resolution, with New York abstaining.
The resolution stated, “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.”
In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams predicted, somewhat inaccurately, that “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”
During the two days following the vote on the Lee Resolution, Congress revised a draft, written chiefly by Thomas Jefferson, that made the colonies’ case for independence. Congress continued revising the document into the morning of July 4.
The revolutionaries believed Congress had to present a united front in signing the Declaration, or Britain would likely prosecute each signer for treason, a crime carrying a death sentence.
Legend has it that John Hancock, the President of the Congress, said, “Gentlemen, we must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together.” Franklin, ever the wit, replied, “Yes, we must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Once satisfactory, the committee took the manuscript document to John Dunlap, official printer to the Congress. The initial number printed is unknown; today only 24 Dunlap copies remain.
On Aug. 2, exactly one month after approving the Lee Resolution, Hancock signed the sheet of parchment, with all others present following him. A few members were not in attendance and would sign later, bringing the final number of signatories to 56.
The resolution stated, “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.”
In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams predicted, somewhat inaccurately, that “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”
During the two days following the vote on the Lee Resolution, Congress revised a draft, written chiefly by Thomas Jefferson, that made the colonies’ case for independence. Congress continued revising the document into the morning of July 4.
The revolutionaries believed Congress had to present a united front in signing the Declaration, or Britain would likely prosecute each signer for treason, a crime carrying a death sentence.
Legend has it that John Hancock, the President of the Congress, said, “Gentlemen, we must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together.” Franklin, ever the wit, replied, “Yes, we must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Once satisfactory, the committee took the manuscript document to John Dunlap, official printer to the Congress. The initial number printed is unknown; today only 24 Dunlap copies remain.
On Aug. 2, exactly one month after approving the Lee Resolution, Hancock signed the sheet of parchment, with all others present following him. A few members were not in attendance and would sign later, bringing the final number of signatories to 56.
Headline Link: The Declaration of Independence
The National Archives Experience provides a history of the Declaration of Independence. From the “Movement Toward Independence” to the “Engrossed Declaration” to the travels and current residences of the 25 original copies of the document from 1776, NARA comprehensively covers the Declaration.
Source: The National Archives Experience
Background: The Lee Resolution
“Acting under the instruction of the Virginia Convention, Richard Henry Lee on June 7, 1776, introduced a resolution in the Second Continental Congress proposing independence for the colonies.” Only July 2, Congress approved the declaration. Our Documents provides text and background for the resolution.
Source: Our Documents
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.” The Massachusetts Historical Society presents John Adams’s letter to his wife Abigail from July 3, 1776.
Source: Massachusetts Historical Society
Key Players: ‘The Signatories’
USHistory.org presents short biographies and notable occupations of all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. On John Hancock, the first man to sign: “In 1768 his sloop Liberty was impounded by customs officials at Boston Harbor, on a charge of running contraband goods. A large group of private citizens stormed the customs post, burned the government boat, and beat the officers, causing them to seek refuge on a ship off shore. Soon afterward, Hancock abetted the Boston Tea Party.”
Source: US History
Historical Context: ‘They Pledged Their Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honor’
The United States Republican Policy Committee describes the gravity of the decision to sign the Declaration of Independence, as well as the consequences for the signers. “Five were captured or imprisoned, and some of them were treated brutally. The wives and children of others were killed, jailed, mistreated, persecuted, or left penniless. The British drove one Signer from his wife’s deathbed, and he lost all of his children.”
Source: The United States Republican Policy Committee
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to U.S. History has a great section on the American Revolution, starting with the motivations behind the Declaration of Independence and continuing through to the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Source: findingDulcinea
Later Developments: What became of the physical document; the making of a holiday
The National Archives Experience provides a history of the Declaration of Independence. From the “Movement Toward Independence” to the “Engrossed Declaration” to the travels and current residences of the 25 original copies of the document from 1776, NARA comprehensively covers the Declaration.
Source: The National Archives Experience
“On January 14, 1941, it was brought to the attention of Congress … that the 1938 Federal holiday law failed to specify that employees of the Government of the District of Columbia also have the Fourth of July designated as a holiday with pay.” James R. Heintze at American University has compiled a timeline of important dates in the Fourth of July’s path to becoming a federal holiday.
Source: American University
Reference: Text of the Declaration
The text of the Declaration of Independence is available through Yale University’s Avalon Project. “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…”
Source: The Avalon Project at Yale University Law School
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
