Shorts

The Declaration Wasn't Signed on July 4th #Shorts

Oct 27, 2026

Pack: 06 - The Declaration Wasn't Signed on July 4th

Watch on YouTube

The Declaration of Independence is dated July 4, 1776, but the signed parchment copy came almost a month later.

• June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed independence. On July 2, Congress adopted his resolution, 12 colonies in favor and New York not voting (National Archives).
• Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration for the Committee of Five: Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. His rough draft is at the Library of Congress (National Archives, Library of Congress).
• Congress revised the text and adopted it on the morning of July 4 (National Archives, Library of Congress).
• On August 2, the journal of Congress records that the engrossed parchment "was signed." John Hancock signed first, and 56 delegates eventually signed, though not all were present that day (National Archives).
• The original is on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Years of display have faded and worn it (National Archives).

The painting in the video, by John Trumbull, shows the draft being presented to Congress on June 28, 1776, not the signing (Architect of the Capitol).

Which signer would you most like to meet?

Sources

• National Archives, "The Declaration of Independence: A History"
• National Archives, "The Declaration of Independence"
• National Archives, "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription"
• Library of Congress, "Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents"
• Architect of the Capitol, "Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull

Images

• "Declaration of Independence" (U.S. Capitol), John Trumbull, Public domain
• "Richard Henry Lee" (c. 1795–1805), Charles Willson Peale, Public domain
• "Thomas Jefferson" (1800), Rembrandt Peale, Public domain
• "Engrossed Declaration of Independence, front", Second Continental Congress (National Archives), Public domain
• "Charters of Freedom Hall, National Archives, Washington, D.C", Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress), Public domain