The Declaration of Independence
I hope you had an awesome Fourth of July. With all of the gatherings, fireworks, activities and parades, it’s easy to lose sight of what we are celebrating. Most people understand that Independence Day marks America’s Birthday - the day that our founding fathers declared independence from Britain. However, having been a few years since studying the Declaration of Independence in school, I realized like many others, I don’t remember much about it. So I was inspired to brush up on this historical document and share with you some interesting facts.
July 2nd or 4th?
Independence was actually agreed upon and declared by the Second Continental Congress on July 2nd 1776. However, it was officially adopted two days later on July 4th after it had been read to each of the colonies. Shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed, John Adams wrote in a letter to Abigail Adams; “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”
In the spirit of democracy though, it was decided that July 4th would be the day to celebrate.
Where are they now?
There were originally 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence printed by John Dunlap to be distributed to various groups, delegations and military. There are only 26 known copies left today, one of which can be seen on display in the National Archives in Washington DC. Only a few are in private hands and most recently one copy sold for $8.14M at an auction in 2000. Who knows, there may be more hiding like this one found at a flea market hidden behind a painting.
Multiple Generations
The oldest person to sign the Declaration of Independence was Benjamin Franklin at 70 years old. The youngest was Edward Rutledge from South Carolina who was 26 years old. I was struck by this wide age span and speaks to the importance of capturing the sentiment of multiple generations when embarking on monumental changes.
As leaders, it’s a great reminder that we need to understand all perspectives when making big decisions.
Sign Here
John Hancock was the first of the 56 men to sign the document because he was the President of the Second Continental Congress.
His signature is the biggest and his name is now synonymous with providing a signature - unless you’re
Chris Farley in Tommy Boy, then it’s “Herbie Hancock.”
The Dynamic Duo
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson went back and forth about who would write the document. Once the edits had been made, it was Jefferson who would hand write the Declaration of Independence and it took him 17 days to do so. These two men would be the last of the signers to survive and they passed away on the same day in 1826 within five hours of one another. That day was….. July 4th.
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