Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
Most Continental Congress delegates sign the engrossed Declaration of Independence
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The famous parchment on display today was still unsigned when Philadelphians first heard the Declaration read aloud in July.
2 August 1776: comparing the parchment at the table
On 2 August 1776 in Philadelphia, the engrossed parchment was compared with the approved text and signed by most members of the Second Continental Congress. The congressional journal reduced the ceremony to that one terse record.
John Hancock signed first. The other delegates signed in state groups arranged geographically, from New Hampshire south to Georgia.
Why Congress ordered an engrossed parchment
On 19 July, after all thirteen colonies had approved independence, Congress had ordered the Declaration fairly engrossed on parchment and signed by every member. The text read publicly earlier that month came from printed Dunlap broadsides, not this sheet.
The National Park Service estimates that 50 of the document's eventual 56 signers signed on 2 August; some modern accounts give 49, and the journal does not name everyone who signed that day.
An unfinished roster
By the end of the ceremony the parchment bore most delegates' signatures and could be retained as Congress's authenticated record. Absent or later-appointed delegates added their names afterward — Thomas McKean's signing date is debated, with National Archives materials placing it much later.
The day settled authentication, not independence: Congress had approved independence on 2 July and adopted the Declaration's text on 4 July.
Sources
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How this was checked
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What the sources leave uncertain
- The congressional journal confirms that the engrossed Declaration was signed on August 2, but does not name everyone who signed that day. The NPS therefore describes 50 as the most likely count; some modern accounts give 49.
- Thomas McKean's signing date is particularly uncertain. National Archives materials place it much later, but the exact year is debated.