August 2, 1776 - The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

August 2,  1776 - The Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

What?
I thought it was signed,  sealed,  and delivered on July 4 of  '76!

What's this all about?

Timothy Matlack's hand-scripted  (engrossed)  copy
of the Declaration of Independence from August 2.

Well,  it is said that the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2,  1776 at the Pennsylvania State House,  (now known as Independence Hall)  in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

The final draft of the Declaration was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4,  although the date of its signing has long been disputed.  Most historians have concluded that it was signed on August 2,  1776,  nearly a month after its adoption,   

According to historian Herbert Friedenwald,  there were 49 delegates in Philadelphia on July 4,  1776,  but only 45 would have been able to sign the document on that day.  Seven delegates were absent.  New York’s eight-person delegation didn’t vote at the time,  while it awaited instructions from home,  so it could never have signed a document on July 4.

August 2 was also the date when the assistant to the secretary of Congress,   Timothy Matlack,  produced a clean scripted copy,  and not on July 4 as is commonly believed by so many,  of which on that famous date only printed copies,  as seen at the bottom of this post,  were produced.

So,  many members of the Continental Congress  (but not all)  signed the engrossed version of the Declaration on August 2,  1776,  in Philadelphia.  

John Hancock

John Hancock’s famous signature was in the middle, because of his status as President of the Congress.  The other delegates signed by state delegation,  starting in the upper right column,  and then proceeding in five columns,  arranged from the northernmost state  (New Hampshire)  to the southernmost  (Georgia).

Richard Henry Lee,  George Wythe,  Elbridge Gerry,  Oliver Wolcott,  Lewis Morris,  Thomas McKean,  and Matthew Thornton signed the document were not present on August 2,  so they signed after that date in 1776.

However,  the signers’ names weren’t released publicly until early 1777,  when Congress allowed the printing of an official copy with the names attached.  On January 18,  1777 printer Mary Katherine Goddard’s version printed in Baltimore indicated the delegates  “desired to have the same put on record,”  and there was a signature from John Hancock authenticating the printing. 

It is believed Thomas McKean of Delaware was the last person to sign.  When Congress authorized the printing of an official copy with the names attached in January 1777,  McKean's name was not included.  He signed after that date,  or the printer made a mistake by omitting him.

Now,  for your own knowledge sake,  I present to you a complete list of all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence:

John Adams

Samuel Adams

Samuel Chase

Samuel Adams

Josiah Bartlett

Carter Braxton  

Charles Carroll

Samuel Chase

Abraham Clark

George Clymer  

Gerry Elbridge  

William Ellery

William Floyd

Benjamin Franklin

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

John Hancock (president of the Continental Congress)

Benjamin Harrison

John Hart

Joseph Hewes

Thomas Heyward, Jr. 

Button Gwinnett

Benjamin Franklin

William Hooper 

Stephen Hopkins

Francis Hopkinson

Samuel Huntington

Thomas Jefferson

Francis Lightfoot Lee 

Richard Henry Lee

Francis Lewis

Philip Livingston

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Thomas McKean

Arthur Middleton 

Lewis Morris

Robert Morris

John Morton

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

William Paca 

Robert Treat Paine

Stephen Hopkins

Robert Treat Paine

John Penn

George Read

Caesar Rodney 

George Ross 

Benjamin Rush

Edward Rutledge

Roger Sherman 

James Smith

Richard Stockton

Thomas Stone

George Taylor

Matthew Thornton 

George Walton

William Whipple

George Wythe

William Williams

James Wilson

John Witherspoon

Oliver Wolcott

George Wythe 

Let's jump ahead a few years and spy into the thoughts of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as they converse with each other via letters about times past:

It was on May 27,  1813,   when Jefferson wrote to Adams with somber news:

Benjamin Rush

"Another of our friends of  76 is gone,  my dear Sir,  another of the Co-signers of the independence of our country. and a better man,  than  (Benjamin) Rush,  could not have left us,  more benevolent, more learned,  of finer genius,  or more honest.  we too must go;  and that ere long.  I believe we are under half a dozen at present;   I mean the signers of the Declaration.  yourself,  Gerry,  Carroll, and myself are all I know to be living.  I am the only one South of the Patomac.  is Robert Treat Payne,  or Floyd living?  it is long since I heard of them,  and yet I do not recollect to have heard of their deaths."

From John Adams:  

"I rec'd  yesterday your favour of may 27th.  I lament with you the loss of Rush.  I know of no Character living or dead,  who has done more real good in America.  Robert Treat Paine still lives,  at 83 or 84,  alert drol and witty though deaf.  Floyd I believe,  yet remains,  Paine must be very great;  Philosopher and Christian;  to live under the Afflictions of his Family.

You & I have passed our lives in serious times..."

Serious times indeed!

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Here is something that I feel is more than a coincidence - Providence,  mayhaps? - concerning these two men:  Thomas Jefferson and John Adams,  both co-writers of the Declaration of Independence,  died on the same day,  date,  and year.  That in itself is remarkable enough.  But their shared passing occurred on July 4,  1826,  50 years to the day of the Declaration's adoption.

Chilling...

Their death signaled the end of the Revolutionary era,  for,  at that point,  there was only one signer left alive,  Charles Carroll,  who lived six more years,  until 1832.

The Spirit of '76

"Another of our friends of  '76 is gone..."

This right here tells you how so very special that year of our Declaration of Independence still was to John Adams and Thomas Jefferson that they continued to remember when a long-time friend had passed away,  not in his age,  but of the accomplishment and contribution he made 37 years prior.  Those 56 men who signed that most important of documents had a connection - a relation - unlike we could ever know.

"Another of our friends of  '76~"

Yes...my American heroes...

Until next time,  see you in time.

To read more about the Declaration of Independence through various blog posts I wrote,  please click HERE

My sources for this posting came from a variety of areas, including THIS article

Also from HERE

as well as from

The Declaration of Independence: The Story Behind America's Founding Document and the Men Who Created It By Rodd Gragg

1776: The Illustrated Edition By David McCullough

The Founding of the United States Experience 1765 - 1815 By Gerry and Janet Souter

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