The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, marks a pivotal moment in American history. This document, which declared the thirteen colonies to be free and independent states, plunged the young nation into a war with its former colonial master, Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence, 1776. By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to It will be signed by 56 delegates in Congress between August 2, 1776 and January, 1777. 55 delegates in Congress sign the Matlack “Parchment” copy of the Declaration of Independence. Congress authorizes a printed version of the Declaration of Independence known as the Goddard Broadside. Congress orders the Declaration of Independence engrossed (officially inscribed) and signed by members. The scribe of this official copy of the Declaration was probably Timothy Matlock. 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. 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. On July 19th, Congress ordered that the Declaration be engrossed on parchment with a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and "that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress." Engrossing is the process of copying an official document in a large hand. 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. American Council of Learned Societies. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume 1607-1896. Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company, 1963. Back to The Signer's Gallery July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence Adopted & Printed Late in the morning of July 4, the Declaration was officially adopted, and the "Committee of Five" took the manuscript copy of the document to John Dunlap, official printer to the Congress. The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States, was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the 13 American colonies were no longer under British rule. The following is a list of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, many of whom are considered the Founding Fathers of the United States. John Hancock , as president of the Continental Congress, was the first to affix his signature. On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence from the British Empire when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was authored by a “Committee of Five”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman—with Jefferson as the Declaration of Independence, 17761 IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1942. The Formation of the Union. Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1970. Ferris, Robert G., ed. Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence. Washington, DC The signed Declaration of Independence, now badly faded because of poor preservation practices during the 19th century, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. On July 4, 1776, Second Continental Congress President John Hancock's signature authenticated the Declaration of Independence. It is in this historical building that the Declaration of Independence was signed on the 2nd of August, in 1776.Delegates, 56 in number, from the 13 former British colonies assembled at the Second Continental Congress and endorsed the Declaration of Independence. When was Declaration of Independence signed? Explore dates, who wrote it, where and when it was signed, its role in American independence.
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |