{"id":11759,"date":"2022-09-02T09:38:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T09:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapsofworld.com\/usa\/uncategorized\/declaration-of-independence-usa.html"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:15:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T15:15:41","slug":"declaration-of-independence-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofworld.com\/usa\/american-history\/declaration-of-us-independence.html","title":{"rendered":"Declaration of Independence, USA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The first lines of the Declaration of Independence’s preamble are some of the best known sentences in the English-speaking world. Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration of Independence, later explained that though his wording was original, the ideas presented in the document were beliefs held by many colonists at that time.<\/p>\n

Several printings of the Declaration of Independence were made after the decision was announced. The first of these printings, called the Dunlap Broadside, ran without any signatures. The names of those who signed the Declaration were withheld from the public for six months, because if the colonies had failed to achieve independence, they would be sentenced to death for their acts of treason. On January 18, 1777, Congress ordered that a copy of the Declaration of Independence with signatories listed be sent to each state. This version was called the Goddard Broadside.<\/p>\n

Signatures<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates from the original 13 colonies.<\/p>\n

The President of Congress at the time, John Hancock of Massachusetts, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, and his large, embellished signature has made his name synonymous with the word “signature.”<\/p>\n

The Declaration of Independence was signed by the following people:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
President of Congress:<\/b>
\nJohn Hancock<\/p>\n

New Hampshire:<\/b>
\nJosiah Bartlett
\nWilliam Whipple
\nMatthew Thornton<\/p>\n

Massachusetts:<\/b>
\nSamuel Adams
\nJohn Adams<\/a>
\nRobert Treat Paine
\nElbridge Gerry<\/p>\n

Delaware:<\/b>
\nGeorge Read
\nCaesar Rodney
\nThomas McKean
\nNew Jersey:<\/b>
\nRichard Stockton
\nJohn Witherspoon
\nFrancis Hopkinson
\nJohn Hart
\nAbraham Clark<\/td>\n

North Carolina:<\/b>
\nWilliam Hooper
\nJoseph Hewes
\nJohn Penn<\/p>\n

New York:<\/b>
\nWilliam Floyd
\nPhilip Livingston
\nFrancis Lewis
\nLewis Morris<\/p>\n

Maryland:<\/b>
\nSamuel Chase
\nWilliam Paca
\nThomas Stone
\nCharles Carroll of Carrollton<\/p>\n

Georgia<\/b>
\nButton Gwinnett
\nLyman Hall
\nGeorge Walton<\/p>\n

Connecticut:<\/b>
\nRoger Sherman
\nSamuel Huntington
\nWilliam Williams
\nOliver Wolcott<\/td>\n

South Carolina:<\/b>
\nEdward Ruteledge
\nThomas Heyward, Jr.
\nThomas Lynch, Jr.
\nArthur Middleton<\/p>\n

Virginia:<\/b>
\nGeorge Wythe
\nRichard Henry Lee
\nThomas Jefferson
\nBenjamin Harrison
\nThomas Nelson, Jr.
\nFrancis Lightfoot Lee
\nCarter Braxton<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania:<\/b>
\nRobert Morris
\nBenjamin Rush
\nBenjamin Franklin
\nJohn Morton
\nGeorge Clymer
\nJames Smith
\nGeorge Taylor
\nJames Wilson
\nGeorge Ross<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first lines of the Declaration of Independence’s preamble are some of the best known sentences in the English-speaking world. Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration of Independence, later explained that though his wording was original, the ideas presented in the document were beliefs held by many colonists at that time.<\/p>\n

Several printings of the Declaration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mapsofworld.com\/usa\/american-history\/declaration_of_independence.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDeclaration of Independence, USA, 4th July<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. 4th july, USA Independence day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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