A bit of history.....The Declaration was not actually signed on July 4th. The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776 and two days later Congress did indeed adopt the Declaration. Having adopted the Declaration, John Dunlap was to set the words in type and make copies to send to the various states as well as to the commanders of Continental troops. It is not know how many were printed the night of July 4th. Twenty-six are known to exist. On July 9th Congress ordered that the Declaration be "fairly engrossed (written by hand) on parchment. Finally, on August 2nd, according to the journal of the Congress, "the Declaration of Independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed." I guess we should continue celebrating until August 2nd.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 15:09:55 +0000
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