On August 2, 1776, members of Congress affixed their signatures
to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Fifty-six congressional delegates in total signed the document,
including some who were not present at the vote approving the declaration. The delegates signed by state from North to South, beginning with Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire and ending
with George Walton of Georgia. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania
and James Duane, Robert Livingston and John Jay of New York
refused to sign. Carter Braxton of Virginia; Robert Morris of Pennsylvania; George Reed of Delaware; and Edward Rutledge
of South Carolina opposed the document but signed in order to
give the impression of a unanimous Congress. Five delegates
were absent: Generals George Washington, John Sullivan,
James Clinton and Christopher Gadsden and Virginia Governor
Patrick Henry.        

The signed Declaration of Independence is displayed next to
the Constitution in the National Archives.

SANDY KOZEL

Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

On July 8, 1776, a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell now known
as the “Liberty Bell” rang out from the tower of the Pennsylvania
State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning
citizens to the first public reading of the United States Declaration
of Independence.

Four days earlier, the historic document had been adopted by
delegates to the Continental Congress, but the bell did not ring
to announce the issuing of the document until the Declaration
of Independence returned from the printer on July 8.

Members of Congress affix their signatures to an enlarged copy
of the Declaration of Independence.

Fifty-six congressional delegates in total signed the document, including
some who were not present at the vote approving the declaration. The
delegates signed by state from North to South, beginning with Josiah
Bartlett of New Hampshire and ending with George Walton of Georgia.

John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and James Duane, Robert Livingston
and John Jay of New York refused to sign. Carter Braxton of Virginia;
Robert Morris of Pennsylvania; George Reed of Delaware; and Edward
Rutledge of South Carolina opposed the document but signed in order
to give the impression of a unanimous Congress. Five delegates were
absent: Generals George Washington, John Sullivan, James Clinton
and Christopher Gadsden and Virginia Governor Patrick Henry.

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