August 2, 2022 – Declaration of Independence

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 of our Founding Fathers and congressional representatives. It’s a popular misconception that the document was signed on the 4th of July, but that’s actually the day that Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence.
It was enacted during the American Revolution, and explains why the 13 colonies regarded themselves as 13 independent sovereign states no longer under British rule. The Declaration was the first step in forming the United States of America. It took nearly a month before the signing of the document took place. This was partially because the delegates from New York didn’t officially give their support until July 9. Then, it took 2 weeks for the Declaration to be hand written on parchment. So a majority of the delegates signed August 2nd. That signed parchment copy is now at the National Archives in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer, at 70 years old. The youngest was a lawyer from South Carolina, named Edward Rutledge, who was 26. While several future presidents also signed the document, the most well known signature is that of John Hancock. His large, flashy signature became iconic, and led the term “John Hancock” to be used to mean “signature”.
Congress ordered 200 copies of the Declaration from a local printer named John Dunlap. Only 26 of these copies remain today. Most are in museum and library collections, but 3 are owned by private collectors. 2 copies have been found in the past 25 years. One was found hidden in a picture frame that was purchased at a flea market in 1989 for $4. That copy sold at auction in 2000 for $8.1 million. The 26th Dunlap copy was found at the British National Archives in 2009. It had been in a box of papers that was captured from American colonists during the Revolutionary War. Learn more here.