Physical History of the United States Declaration of Independence - wikipedia Physical History of the United States Declaration of Independence The signed, Engrossed Copy of the Declaration, now badly faded, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The United States Declaration of Independence, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire, exists in a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published broadsides. Contents 1 Drafts and pre-publication copies 1.1 Composition Draft 1.2 Rough Draft 1.3 Fair Copy 2 Broadsides 2.1 Dunlap broadside 2.1. 1 List of extant Dunlap broadsides 2.2 Goddard broadside 2.3 The Other broadsides 3 Parchment copies 3.1 The Matlack Declaration 3.2 The Sussex Declaration 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Drafts and pre-publication copies Composition Draft The Composition Draft The earliest known draft of the Declaration of Independence is a fragment known as the `` Composition Draft. '' The draft, written in July 1776, is in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration. It was discovered in 1947 by historian Julian P. Boyd in the Jefferson papers at the Library of Congress. Boyd was examining primary documents for publication in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson when he found the document, a piece of paper that contains a small part of the text of the Declaration, as well as some unrelated notes made by Jefferson. Prior to Boyd 's discovery, the only known draft of the Declaration had been a document known as the `` Rough Draft '' ( below ). The discovery confirmed speculation by historians that Jefferson must have written more than one draft of the text. Many of the words from the Composition Draft were ultimately deleted by Congress from the final text of the Declaration. Phrases from the fragment to survive the editing process include `` acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation '' and `` hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. '' Forensic examination has determined that the paper of the Composition Draft and the paper of the Rough Draft were made by the same manufacturer. In 1995, conservators at the Library of Congress undid some previous restoration work on the fragment and placed it in a protective mat. The document is stored in a cold storage vault. When it is exhibited, the fragment is placed in a temperature and humidity controlled display case. Rough Draft The first page of Jefferson 's rough draft. Thomas Jefferson preserved a four - page draft that late in life he called the `` original Rough draught. '' Known to historians as the Rough Draft, early students of the Declaration believed that this was a draft written alone by Jefferson and then presented to the Committee of Five drafting committee. Some scholars now believe that the Rough Draft was not actually an `` original Rough draught '', but was instead a revised version completed by Jefferson after consultation with the committee. How many drafts Jefferson wrote prior to this one, and how much of the text was contributed by other committee members, is unknown. Jefferson showed the Rough Draft to John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and perhaps other members of the drafting committee. Adams and Franklin made a few more changes. Franklin, for example, may have been responsible for changing Jefferson 's original phrase `` We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable '' to `` We hold these truths to be self - evident. '' Jefferson incorporated these changes into a copy that was submitted to Congress in the name of the committee. Jefferson kept the Rough Draft and made additional notes on it as Congress revised the text. He also made several copies of the Rough Draft without the changes made by Congress, which he sent to friends, including Richard Henry Lee and George Wythe, after July 4. At some point in the process, Adams also wrote out a copy. Fair copy In 1823, Jefferson wrote a letter to James Madison in which he recounted the drafting process. After making alterations to his draft as suggested by Franklin and Adams, he recalled that `` I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the Committee, and from them, unaltered, to Congress. '' If Jefferson 's memories were correct, and he indeed wrote out a fair copy which was shown to the drafting committee and then submitted to Congress on June 28, this document has not been found. `` If this manuscript still exists, '' wrote historian Ted Widmer, `` it is the holy grail of American freedom. '' The Fair Copy was presumably marked up by Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress, while Congress debated and revised the text. This document was the one that Congress approved on July 4, making it what Boyd called the first `` official '' copy of the Declaration. The Fair Copy was sent to be printed under the title `` A Declaration by the Representatives of the united states of america, in General Congress assembled. '' Boyd argued that if a document was signed in Congress on July 4 -- which he thought unlikely -- it would have been the Fair Copy, and probably would have been signed only by John Hancock and Thomson. The Fair Copy may have been destroyed in the printing process, or destroyed during the debates in accordance with Congress 's secrecy rule. Broadsides The Declaration was first published as a broadside printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia. One broadside was pasted into Congress 's journal, making it what Boyd called the `` second official version '' of the Declaration. Dunlap 's broadsides were distributed throughout the thirteen states. Upon receiving these broadsides, many states issued their own broadside editions. Dunlap broadside The Library of Congress 's copy of the Dunlap broadside. The Dunlap broadsides were the first published copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed on the night of July 4, 1776. It is unknown exactly how many broadsides were originally printed, but the number is estimated at about 200. John Hancock 's eventually famous signature was not on this document, but his name appeared in large type under `` Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress '', with secretary Charles Thomson listed as a witness ( `` Attest '' ). On July 4, 1776, Congress ordered the same committee charged with writing the document to `` superintend and correct the press '', that is, supervise the printing. Dunlap, an Irish immigrant then 29 years old, was tasked with the job ; he apparently spent much of the night of July 4 setting type, correcting it, and running off the broadside sheets. `` There is evidence it was done quickly, and in excitement -- watermarks are reversed, some copies look as if they were folded before the ink could dry and bits of punctuation move around from one copy to another, '' according to Ted Widmer, author of Ark of the Liberties : America and the World. `` It is romantic to think that Benjamin Franklin, the greatest printer of his day, was there in Dunlap 's shop to supervise, and that Jefferson, the nervous author, was also close at hand. '' John Adams later wrote that, `` We were all in haste. '' The Dunlap broadsides were sent across the new United States over the next two days, including to Commander - in - Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington, who directed that the Declaration be read to the troops on July 9. Another copy was sent to England. In 1949, 14 copies of the Dunlap broadside were known to exist. The number had increased to 21 by 1975. There were 24 known copies of the Dunlap broadside in 1989, when a 25th broadside was discovered behind a painting bought for four dollars at a flea market. On July 2, 2009, it was announced that a 26th Dunlap broadside was discovered in The National Archives in Kew, England. It is currently unknown how this copy came to the archive, but one possibility is that it was captured from an American coastal ship intercepted during the War of Independence. List of extant Dunlap broadsides # Location Owner Notes Reference New Haven, Connecticut Beinecke Library, Yale University Bloomington, Indiana Lilly Library, Indiana University previous owner was Henry N. Flynt of Greenwich, Connecticut. Portland, Maine Maine Historical Society given to the society in 1893 at the bequest of John S.H. Fogg. Chicago, Illinois Chicago Historical Society signed by John Steward ( 1747 -- 1829 ) of Goshen, New York ; sold July 2, 1975, at auction, by Christie 's, London ; later sold to the Chicago Historical Society. 5 Baltimore, Maryland Maryland Historical Society fragment of upper left area of the document, including the first 36 lines. 6 Boston, Massachusetts Massachusetts Historical Society 7 Cambridge, Massachusetts Houghton Library, Harvard University donated in 1947 by Carleton R. Richmond. 8 Williamstown, Massachusetts Williams College previously owned by the Wood family ; sold at auction, April 22, 1983, by Christie 's, New York. 9 Princeton, New Jersey Scheide Library, Firestone Library, Princeton University currently owned by William R. Scheide ; bought by John H. Scheide from A.S.W. Rosenbach. 10 New York, New York ( last known location ) Private collector sold by the New - York Historical Society to a private collector in the United States. 11 New York, New York New York Public Library 12 New York, New York Morgan Library once owned by the Chew family ; sold April 1, 1982, at auction at Christie 's, New York. 13 Exeter, New Hampshire American Independence Museum copy discovered in 1985 in the Ladd - Gilman House in Exeter. 14 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania American Philosophical Society acquired from the Library of Congress in 1901 in a trade for Benjamin Franklin 's Passy imprint of The Boston Independent Chronicle `` Supplement. '' 15 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Historical Society of Pennsylvania fragment including the first 32 lines, thought to be likely an uncorrected proof, from the Frank M. Etting collection ; Etting asserted it was this document that had been read in public. However, Charles Henry Hart wrote in 1900 : `` The endorsement is in the handwriting of the late Frank M. Etting, who died insane, one of the most inexact and inaccurate of collectors. '' 16 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Independence National Historical Park previously owned by Col. John Nixon, appointed by the sheriff of Philadelphia to read the Declaration of Independence to the public on July 8, 1776, in the State House yard ; presented to the park by his heirs in 1951. 17 Dallas, Texas Dallas Public Library `` The Leary Copy '' discovered in 1968 amid the stock of Leary 's Book Store of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a crate that had been unopened since 1911. Ira G. Corn Jr. and Joseph P. Driscoll of Dallas bought the manuscript on May 7, 1969. A group of 17 people later sold it to the Dallas city government. 18 Charlottesville, Virginia University of Virginia 1 / 2. Found in 1955 in an attic in Albany, New York, where it had been used to wrap other papers. Bought by Charles E. Tuttle Company of Rutland, Vermont ; later sold to David Randall, who sold it in 1956 to the university. 19 Charlottesville, Virginia University of Virginia 2 / 2. `` The H. Bradley Martin Copy '' ; exhibited at the Grolier Club in 1974 ; sold on January 31, 1990 to Albert H. Small, who gave it to the university. 20 Washington, D.C. Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division 21 Washington, D.C. Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, Washington Papers fragment copy with 54 lines ; thought to be the copy George Washington read to the troops on July 9, 1776, in New York. 22 Washington, D.C. National Archives inserted into the Continental Congress manuscript journal, previously attached with a seal. 23 Roving copy Norman Lear Found in the back of a picture frame bought at a yard sale for $4.00 at an Adamstown, Pennsylvania, flea market ; now owned by a consortium which includes Norman Lear ; sold in 2000 for $8.14 million ; previously sold for $2.42 million on June 4, 1991. 24 London, United Kingdom The National Archives, Colonial Office Papers General William Howe and Vice Admiral Richard Howe from the flagship Eagle, off Staten Island, sent this copy with a letter dated August 11, 1776, which stated, `` A printed copy of this Declaration of Independency came accidentally to our hands a few days after the dispatch of the Mercury packet, and we have the honor to enclose it. '' 25 London, United Kingdom The National Archives, Admiralty Papers Vice Admiral Richard Howe sent this copy from the flagship Eagle, then `` off Staten Island '' with a letter dated July 28, 1776. 26 London, United Kingdom The National Archives, Colonial Office Papers Discovered in box of documents in 2008. Exact provenance is currently unknown. Goddard broadside The Goddard broadside. In January 1777, Congress commissioned Mary Katherine Goddard to print a new broadside that, unlike the Dunlap broadside, listed the signers of the Declaration. With the publication of the Goddard broadside, the public learned for the first time who had signed the Declaration. One of the eventual signers of the Declaration, Thomas McKean, is not listed on the Goddard broadside, suggesting that he had not yet added his name to the signed document at that time. In 1949, nine Goddard broadsides were known to still exist. The reported locations of those copies at that time were : Library of Congress ( Washington, D.C. ) Connecticut State Library ( Hartford, Connecticut ) Library of the late John W. Garrett Maryland Hall of Records ( Annapolis, Maryland ) Maryland Historical Society ( Baltimore, Maryland ) Massachusetts Archives ( Dorchester, Massachusetts ) New York Public Library ( New York, New York ) Library Company of Philadelphia ( Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ) Rhode Island State Archives ( Providence, Rhode Island ) The other broadsides A rare four - column broadside at Lauinger Library, Georgetown University. In addition to the broadsides authorized by Congress, many states and private printers also issued broadsides of the Declaration, using the Dunlap broadside as a source. In 1949, an article in the Harvard Library Review surveyed all the broadsides known to exist at that time and found 19 editions or variations of editions, including the Dunlap and Goddard printings. The author was able to locate 71 copies of these various editions. A number of copies have been discovered since that time. In 1971, a copy of a rare four - column broadside probably printed in Salem, Massachusetts was discovered in Georgetown University 's Lauinger Library. In 2010, there were media reports that a copy of the Declaration was located in Shimla, India, having been discovered sometime during the 1990s. The type of copy was not specified. Parchment copies The Matlack Declaration The copy of the Declaration that was signed by Congress is known as the engrossed or parchment copy. This copy was probably handwritten by clerk Timothy Matlack, and given the title of `` The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America ''. This was specified by the Congressional resolution passed on July 19th, 1776 : Resolved, That the Declaration passed on the 4th, be fairly engrossed on parchment, with the title and stile of `` The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America, '' and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress. Throughout the Revolutionary War, the engrossed copy was moved with the Continental Congress, which relocated several times to avoid the British army. In 1789, after creation of a new government under the United States Constitution, the engrossed Declaration was transferred to the custody of the secretary of state. The document was evacuated to Virginia when the British attacked Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. National Bureau of Standards preserving the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence in 1951. After the War of 1812, the symbolic stature of the Declaration steadily increased even though the engrossed copy 's ink was noticeably fading. In 1820, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned printer William J. Stone to create an engraving essentially identical to the engrossed copy. Stone 's engraving was made using a wet - ink transfer process, where the surface of the document was moistened, and some of the original ink transferred to the surface of a copper plate, which was then etched so that copies could be run off the plate on a press. When Stone finished his engraving in 1823, Congress ordered 200 copies to be printed on parchment. Because of poor conservation of the engrossed copy through the 19th century, Stone 's engraving, rather than the original, has become the basis of most modern reproductions. From 1841 to 1876, the engrossed copy was publicly displayed on a wall opposite a large window at the Patent Office building in Washington, D.C. Exposed to sunlight and variable temperature and humidity, the document faded badly. In 1876, it was sent to Independence Hall in Philadelphia for exhibit during the Centennial Exposition, which was held in honor of the Declaration 's 100th anniversary, and then returned to Washington the next year. In 1892, preparations were made for the engrossed copy to be exhibited at the World 's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, but the poor condition of the document led to the cancellation of those plans and the removal of the document from public exhibition. The document was sealed between two plates of glass and placed in storage. For nearly 30 years, it was exhibited only on rare occasions at the discretion of the Secretary of State. In 1921, custody of the Declaration, along with the United States Constitution, was transferred from the State Department to the Library of Congress. Funds were appropriated to preserve the documents in a public exhibit that opened in 1924. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the documents were moved for safekeeping to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox in Kentucky, where they were kept until 1944. For many years, officials at the National Archives believed that they, rather than the Library of Congress, should have custody of the Declaration and the Constitution. The transfer finally took place in 1952, and the documents, along with the Bill of Rights, are now on permanent display at the National Archives in the `` Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. '' Although encased in helium, by the early 1980s the documents were threatened by further deterioration. In 2001, using the latest in preservation technology, conservators treated the documents and re-encased them in encasements made of titanium and aluminum, filled with inert argon gas. They were put on display again with the opening of the remodeled National Archives Rotunda in 2003. The Sussex Declaration On April 21, 2017, the Declaration Resources Project at Harvard University announced that a second parchment manuscript copy had been discovered at West Sussex Record Office in Chichester, England. Named the `` Sussex Declaration '' by its finders, Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff, it differs from the National Archives copy ( which the finders refer to as the `` Matlack Declaration '' ) in that the signatures on it are not grouped by States. How it came to be in England is not yet known, but the finders believe that the randomness of the signatures points to an origin with signatory James Wilson, who had argued strongly that the Declaration was made not by the States but by the whole people. The finders identify the Sussex Declaration as a transcription of the Matlack Declaration, probably made between 1783 and 1790 and likely in New York City or possibly Philadelphia. They propose that the Sussex Declaration `` descended from the Matlack Declaration, and it ( or a copy ) served, before disappearing from view, as a source text for both the 1818 Tyler engraving and the 1836 Bridgham engraving ''. Notes Publication information for sources mentioned in brief here can be found in References '' section below. Jump up ^ Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, 1 : 421. ^ Jump up to : Gerald Gawalt ( July 1999 ). `` Jefferson and the Declaration : Updated Work Studies Evolution of Historic Text ''. Information Bulletin. Library of Congress. Retrieved July 9, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Mark Roosa ( July 1999 ). `` Preservation Corner : Piecing Together Fragments of History ''. Information Bulletin. Library of Congress. Retrieved July 9, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 446. Jump up ^ Kaufman, Mark ( July 2, 2010 ). `` Jefferson changed ' subjects ' to ' citizens ' in Declaration of Independence ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2010. Jump up ^ Becker, Declaration of Independence, 142 note 1. Boyd ( Papers of Jefferson, 1 : 427 -- 28 ) casts doubt on Becker 's belief that the change was made by Franklin. Jump up ^ Maier, 100. Jump up ^ Becker, 139. Jump up ^ Widmer. Jump up ^ Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 449. Jump up ^ Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 450. Jump up ^ Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 448 -- 50. Jump up ^ Ritz, `` From the Here '', speculates that the Fair Copy was immediately sent to the printer so that copies could be made for each member of Congress to consult during the debate. All of these copies were then destroyed, theorizes Ritz, to preserve secrecy. Jump up ^ Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 452. ^ Jump up to : Walsh, Michael J. `` Contemporary Broadside Editions of the Declaration of Independence ''. Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume III, Number 1 ( Winter 1949 ), 31 -- 43. ^ Jump up to : Phillips, Heather A., Safety and Happiness ; The Paradox of the Declaration of Independence. The Early America Review, Vol. VII No. 4. http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2007_summer_fall/preserving-documents.html ^ Jump up to : Illustration for Widmer, Ted, `` Looking for Liberty '', oped commentary article, The New York Times, July 4, 2008, accessed July 7, 2008 Jump up ^ Boyd, `` Lost Original '', 453. ^ Jump up to : Katz, Gregory ( July 2, 2009 ). `` Rare Copy of Declaration of Independence Found ''. Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved July 1, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Rare copy of United States Declaration of Independence found in Kew ''. The Daily Telegraph. July 3, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Projects - The Norman Lear Center ''. Jump up ^ McSorley, Joshua. `` Reliam : Maintenance Page ''. Jump up ^ `` The Declaration of Independence : A History ''. Charters of Freedom. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Ann Marie Dube ( May 1996 ). `` The Declaration of Independence ''. A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions : The Writing and Publicizing of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. National Park Service. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Ann Marie Dube ( May 1996 ). `` Appendix D ''. A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions : The Writing and Publicizing of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2011. Jump up ^ Heller, Chris ( 6 July 2010 ). `` Lauinger Library owns a very expensive document ''. The Georgetown Voice. Retrieved 22 September 2012. Jump up ^ `` Copy of US Declaration found in Shimla ''. The Times Of India. April 1, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010. Jump up ^ This copy of the Declaration renders the `` u '' in United States in small case, i.e. `` united States '', one of several variations in capitalization and punctuation that historians Boyd and Becker believed to be of no significance ; Boyd, Evolution, 25 -- 26. In his notes and Rough Draft, Jefferson capitalized variously as `` United states '' ( Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, 1 : 315 ) and `` United States '' ( ibid., 1 : 427 ). Jump up ^ `` Journals of the Continental Congress -- FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1776 ''. ^ Jump up to : Gustafson, `` Travels of the Charters of Freedom ''. Jump up ^ National Archives. Jump up ^ Malone, Story of the Declaration, 257. Jump up ^ `` Charter of Liberties Finds a Home ''. New York Times Magazine. 1924 - 04 - 06. p. SM7. Jump up ^ Malone, Story of the Declaration, 263. Jump up ^ `` National Archives Press Release ''. Archives.gov. Retrieved 2010 - 12 - 11. Jump up ^ `` A New Era Begins for the Charters of Freedom ''. Archives.gov. Retrieved 22 September 2012. Jump up ^ Wang, Amy B. ( April 24, 2017 ). `` A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has been found -- in England ''. Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2017. Jump up ^ Yuhas, Alan ( April 22, 2017 ). `` Rare parchment copy of US Declaration of Independence found in England ''. The Guardian. Retrieved April 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Sussex Declaration ''. Declaration Resources Project. Harvard University. Retrieved April 22, 2017. Jump up ^ Allen, Danielle ; Sneff, Emily ( April 20, 2017 ). `` The Sussex Declaration : Dating the Parchment Manuscript of the Declaration of Independence Held at the West Sussex Record Office ( Chichester, UK ) ( Under final revision and preparation for publication at Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America ) '' ( PDF ). Retrieved April 22, 2017. References Becker, Carl. The Declaration of Independence : A Study in the History of Political Ideas. 1922. Available online from The Online Library of Liberty and Google Book Search. Revised edition New York : Vintage Books, 1970. ISBN 0 - 394 - 70060 - 0. Boyd, Julian P. The Declaration of Independence : The Evolution of the Text. Originally published 1945. Revised edition edited by Gerard W. Gawalt. University Press of New England, 1999. ISBN 0 - 8444 - 0980 - 4. Boyd, Julian P., ed. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 1. Princeton University Press, 1950. Boyd, Julian P. `` The Declaration of Independence : The Mystery of the Lost Original ''. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 100, number 4 ( October 1976 ), 438 -- 467. Hazelton, John H. The Declaration of Independence : Its History. Originally published 1906. New York : Da Capo Press, 1970. ISBN 0 - 306 - 71987 - 8. 1906 edition available on Google Book Search Maier, Pauline. American Scripture : Making the Declaration of Independence. New York : Knopf, 1997. ISBN 0 - 679 - 45492 - 6. Malone, Dumas. The Story of the Declaration of Independence. New York : Oxford University Press, 1975. Phillips, Heather A. `` Safety and Happiness ; The Paradox of the Declaration of Independence ''. The Early America Review, Vol. VII No. 4. Ritz, Wilfred J. `` From the Here of Jefferson 's Handwritten Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence to the There of the Printed Dunlap Broadside ''. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 116, number 4 ( October 1992 ), 499 -- 512. Further reading Goff, Frederick R. The John Dunlap Broadside : the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. Washington : Library of Congress, 1976. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Draft of the United States Declaration of Independence. `` Declaring Independence : Drafting the Documents '' from the Library of Congress `` Declaration Resources Project ''. Harvard University. Three copies of the Dunlap Broadside are held by the UK National Archives. 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Morris Morton Nelson Paca Paine Penn Read Rodney Ross Rush Rutledge Sherman Smith Stockton Stone Taylor Thornton Walton Whipple Williams Wilson Witherspoon Wolcott Wythe Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → John Hancock 1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts, 1780 -- 1785, 1787 -- 1793 President, 2nd Continential Congress, 1775 -- 1777 Boston Board of Selectmen, 1766 -- 1775 United States Founding events HMS Liberty confiscation Sons of Liberty Co-inspired, Boston Tea Party 1774 Massacre Day speech President, Massachusetts Provincial Congress Chairman, Massachusetts Committee of Safety Presided over, signed, United States Declaration of Independence signing Dunlap broadside Signed, Articles of Confederation Life Early life Hancock - Clarke House Hancock Manor Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University Boston Cadets Co-founder, American Academy of Arts and Sciences United States presidential election, 1788 -- 89 Granary Burying Ground Related American Revolution patriots Founding Father Syng inkstand Legacy USS Hancock, 1775 USS Hancock, 1776 Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) John Hancock Center John Hancock Tower Family Dorothy Quincy ( wife ) John Hancock Jr. ( father ) Thomas Hancock ( uncle ) John Hancock, Sr. ( grandfather ) Edmund Quincy ( father - in - law ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Physical_history_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence&oldid=817589889 '' Categories : United States Declaration of Independence Documents of the American Revolution The National Archives ( United Kingdom ) 1776 in the United States 1776 in the British Empire Hidden categories : CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Talk Read Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 29 December 2017, at 10 : 15. 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Question: who printed the first copy of the declaration of independence
Answer: John Dunlap