I couldn’t do a theme week on the 4th of July without talking about the whole reason for the day – the Declaration of Independence! It was adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress, which had convened at the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.
Contrary to popular belief, the document wasn’t signed on that day. Most of the delegates signed it on August 2 that year, and those who weren’t present added their names later. There was a 44 year age gap between the oldest and youngest signers. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at 70, while the youngest, a South Carolina lawyer named Edward Rutledge, was just 26. Signatories included future presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, but the most legendary signature is John Hancock’s. He was the president of the Second Continental Congress, and his large, flamboyant signature became so iconic that “John Hancock” is now a metaphor for “signature”. According to legend, Hancock signed his name that big so that King George would be able to read it without his glasses on. But that’s largely untrue as it the story didn’t originate until years later.
After Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration, a hand-written copy was sent a few blocks away to a printer named John Dunlap. He printed around 200 broadsides, which were distributed and read to audiences and reprinted in newspapers in the colonies. Only about 26 of the Dunlap Broadsides still exist. One was found by a Philadelphia man in 1989 in the back of a picture frame he bought at a flea market for $4. It was later sold for $8.1 million.
During World War II, the Declaration and Consitution were sent to Fort Knox for safekeeping. They were returned to Washington, D.C. in 1944. In 1952, the signed copy was transferred to the National Archives where it’s now on permanent display.
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