On June 11, 1776, a committee consisting of John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, was formed to draft a suitable declaration to frame this resolution. Jefferson did most of the writing, with input from the committee. His draft was presented to the Continental Congress on July 1, 1776.
Fragment of an early draft of the DeclarationThe full Declaration was rewritten somewhat in general session prior to its adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House. This version was only signed by the President of the Congress John Hancock and the Secretary Charles Thomson. A famous signing ceremony, often attributed to July 4, actually took place on August 2.
After its adoption by Congress on July 4, a copy was then sent a few blocks away to the printing shop of John Dunlap. Through the night between 150 and 200 copies were made, now known as "Dunlap broadsides". One was sent to George Washington on July 6, who had it read to his troops in New York on July 9. The 25 Dunlap broadsides still known to exist are the oldest surviving copies of the document.
On January 18, 1777, the Continental Congress ordered that the declaration be more widely distributed. The second printing was made by Mary Katharine Goddard. The first printing had included only the names John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Goddard's printing was the first to list all signatories.
Word of the declaration reached London on August 10.
John Trumbull's famous painting depicts the signing of the Declaration. This depiction can also be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill. [1]On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered a copy be handwritten for the delegates to sign. This copy of the Declaration was produced by Timothy Matlack, assistant to the secretary of Congress. Most of the delegates signed it on August 2, 1776, in geographic order of their colonies from north to south, though some delegates were not present and had to sign later. Two delegates never signed at all. As new delegates joined the congress, they were also allowed to sign. A total of 56 delegates eventually signed. This is the copy on display at the National Archives.
The first and most famous signature on the Declaration was that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. Two future presidents, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, were among the signatories. The other fifty-five signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton;
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry;
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery;
Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott;
New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris;
New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark;
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross;
Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean;
Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton;
Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton;
North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn;
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton;
Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.