Did you know…?
Many delegates did not sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.
On July 4, 1776, after weeks of debate, the Second Continental Congress finally approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-six delegates from the thirteen colonies signed the document; however, not all of the delegates signed it on July 4th. When they did sign it has been debated for more than 200 years.
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams all wrote that the Declaration was signed on July 4th. But in 1796, signer Thomas McKean of Delaware disputed their writings, saying that many of the delegates weren’t present on the 4th, and indeed some had not even been elected at that point, so it was impossible for everyone to have signed the document on that day. Although Jefferson and Adams denied this, the Secret Journals of Congress, published in 1821 backed up McKean’s claim. The entry for August 2 reads:
The declaration of Independence being engrossed & compared at the table was signed by the Members.
There are historians who argue that it is impossible that Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams could have all been mistaken; however, the widely accepted consensus is that most of the delegates signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776.
For a complete list of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence and their bios, click here.
Did you also know…?
- United States History
- If it weren’t for Navajo Indians, the United States would have lost the battle at Iwo Jima.
- Before 1883, there were 8,000 times zones in the United States.
- The first fatality of the Civil War was an accident.
- Many delegates did not sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.
- If Benjamin Franklin had his way, our national bird would be the turkey.
- The Liberty Bell was never rung on July 4, 1776.
- The correct folding of the American flag 13 times does not symbolize the 13 colonies.
- Scopes never committed the crime that led to the Scopes Monkey Trial.
- After the doomed Apollo 13 landed, Houston had another—hilarious—problem.
- The United States Constitution isn’t perfect—grammatically speaking.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” was improvised.
- The United States once included a state named Franklin.
- On August 4, 1922, every phone in North America went silent.
- “The Star-Spangled Banner” was originally a British drinking song.
- The shortest U.S. Presidential term was 1 day.
- The New York Stock Exchange began in a coffee shop.
- There was once a 5-cent bill.
- President Roosevelt’s safety during World War II was due to Al Capone.
- Puff the Magic Dragon was a war hero