The Declaration of Independence The Want, Will, and Hopes of the People Declaration text | Rough Draft | Congress's Draft | Compare | Dunlap Broadside | Image | Scan 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. In an event of historic coincidence, both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4,1826: the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It is rumored that late in the afternoon before John Adams died, unaware of the passing of Jefferson, he said “Thomas Jefferson survives.” Signers of The Declaration of Independence Because I found the information difficult to find on the Internet, I compiled the demographics for the Signers of the Declaration of Independence for this page. It mirrors the data found on a similar page which has demographics for the attendees of the Constitutional Convention and another for the [] The signers of the Declaration of Independence are characterized here, and we have also listed each person below in alphabetical order, followed by their age at the time the Declaration was signed. 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. The 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence are (in alphabetical order): Brief but detail-rich biographies of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 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. The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later to become known as Independence Hall. There were 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence and each of them have a story to tell that illuminates why they did what they did. Everybody knows that the Fourth of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the historic document by means of which the 13 American colonies severed their political Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The youngest was William Rutledge of South Carolina, who was only 26. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin, then aged 70. He commented that, "We must hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." From the DAR Americana Collection Among the wide variety of holdings in the DAR Americana Collection is a collection of all of the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This exhibit includes a biography, signature, and portrait for each of the 56 signers. 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. A list of the names of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence are also included in alphabetical order at the bottom of this page, together with some fast, fun facts about the signers. 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. Signers of the Declaration of Independence Download this Information in PDF Format Signatures There are 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Fifty men from 13 states signed the document on August 2 in 1776. The other six signed over the course of the next year and a half. As the President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock signed first. He wrote his name very large. 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. There would eventually be 56 signers of the document. Many of their portraits are in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. There were 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence. The youngest was Edward Rutledge from South Carolina at 26 years old. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin at 70 years old. Only a handful
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