Question: who was affected by the declaration of independence

title: United States Declaration of Independence
text: Signatures The first and most famous signature on the engrossed copy was that of John Hancock , President of the Continental Congress . Two future presidents ( Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ) and a father and great - grandfather of two other presidents ( Benjamin Harrison ) were among the signatories . Edward Rutledge ( age 26 ) was the youngest signer , and Benjamin Franklin ( age 70 ) was the oldest signer . The fifty - six signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows ( from north to south ) : New Hampshire : Josiah Bartlett , William Whipple , Matthew Thornton Massachusetts : Samuel Adams , John Adams , John Hancock , Robert Treat Paine , Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island : Stephen Hopkins , William Ellery Connecticut : Roger Sherman , Samuel Huntington , William Williams , Oliver Wolcott New York : William Floyd , Philip Livingston , Francis Lewis , Lewis Morris New Jersey : Richard Stockton , John Witherspoon , Francis Hopkinson , John Hart , Abraham Clark Pennsylvania : Robert Morris , Benjamin Rush , Benjamin Franklin , John Morton , George Clymer , James Smith , George Taylor , James Wilson , George Ross Delaware : George Read , Caesar Rodney , Thomas McKean Maryland : Samuel Chase , William Paca , Thomas Stone , Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia : George Wythe , Richard Henry Lee , Thomas Jefferson , Benjamin Harrison , Thomas Nelson Jr. , Francis Lightfoot Lee , Carter Braxton North Carolina : William Hooper , Joseph Hewes , John Penn South Carolina : Edward Rutledge , Thomas Heyward Jr. , Thomas Lynch Jr. , Arthur Middleton Georgia : Button Gwinnett , Lyman Hall , George Walton