Share to Google Classroom Added by 27 Educators The city of Philadelphia was, in addition to being the largest city North America at the time, the spiritual heart of Revolutionary America. Philadelphia's Independence Hall played host to the Continental Congress. It too was where the Declaration of Independence was signed. He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and remained a steady presence in the Continental Congress, often serving simultaneously in the state legislature. The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it. The United States was born in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. But the city’s importance stretches well beyond that date due to the political, economic and cultural events that informed and grew out of independence. Modern Philadelphia preserves these sites and stories, making it an unrivaled destination for history buffs and for anyone looking to learn more about American history. Start in On January 18, 1777, Congress commissioned Mary Katherine Goddard of Maryland (Congress had moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore in December 1776 because of the war) to print a copy of the Declaration for the public that would, for the first time, include the signatures of the signers. On January 9, 1776, Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson (1742-1798) proposed that Congress reject any talk of independence. That same day, the printing shop of Robert Bell near Third and Walnut Streets issued a pamphlet that magnified the desire for independence. 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. On August 2, 1776, roughly a month after the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, an “engrossed” version was signed at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia by most of the congressional delegates (engrossing is rendering an official document in a large clear hand). Below: Presentation of the finished Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776. The Declaration was then signed and copies of the text were transported to key cities such as New York and Boston to be read aloud. The Declaration of Independence was signed here in 1776, and the U.S. Constitution was written here in 1787. A National Historic Landmark, Independence Hall is recognized globally for its impact on the pursuit of freedom and democracy. 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. When was Declaration of Independence signed? While adopted on July 4, 1776, the engrossed Declaration of Independence was primarily signed on August 2, 1776, in Philadelphia. 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. Both foundational documents were debated and signed in Independence Hall, earning the building status as a World Heritage Site. The public was swayed toward independence by Thomas Paine’s wildly influential 1776 pamphlet published in Philadelphia, Common Sense. In it, Paine railed against monarchy, and for freedom-for-all and self rule. The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. 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.’ On July 1, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, and on the following day, 12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee’s motion for independence. Signers of the Declaration of Independence Download this Information in PDF Format The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continental Congress, who convened at Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in the colonial capital of Philadelphia. These delegates
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