Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-07-04
THE STORY.OF THE DECLARATION OF.
INDEPENDENCE

Reed, voted against It, Rutledee :,
South Carolina requested the dete,.
mination might be put off to the ne,t
day, as he believed his Colleagues
though they disapproved of the ra.'
olution. would join in it for the sake
of unanimity. The ultimate auest,an
whether the House would agree to the
resolution Of the committee was ac,
cOrdingly postponed to the next day
when it was moved and South
Carolina concurred in voting for il,
During the day of postponement the
patriotism of Col. Mexican rescued the
fame of Delaware. He managed "a
get word to Caesar Rodney, who nv
| riding eighty miles on horseback, ar
rived in time for the two Of them N
| carry their state for the resolution IN
| the next ballot.
In Pennsylvania popular sentiment
was decidedly for independence and
| organized efforts We're brought to bear
upon the delegates. Conditions
changed suddenly. Franklin. Morton
and Wilson voted for and Willing and
Humphreys against the resolution.
The other two delegates. Morris and
thus refrained from voting. All this
time the New York delegates declined
to vote at all, as not having been IN.
structed. When the final vote was
taken on the 4th. New York still not
voting. only three delegates voted
against the resolution; these Were
Willing and Humphreys of Pennsyl-
vania and Reed of Delaware Nine
out of the thirteen colonies had voted
unanimously July =. Twelve voted for
1t on the 4th. On the 9th the New
York members, having been instructed
by their state to vote in favor of the
resolution, did so, thus making the
vote unanimous so far as the states
were concerned.
Congress on the 18th Of July ORDERED
the Declaration passed on the. Atk
fairly ensrossed on parchment IN
the title and style Of "The unanImnJ
Declaration of the Thirteen UnifC
States of America, and that the sam
when engr0ssed. be signed by evei
member of Congress"
1t was sultry day in August, II
2d. when the order was carried o.
jefferson, when in a genial, remind
ttiIt Iiloou, WIS accustomed 10 saw
the signing was FASTENED, by swan
of flies that came into the hall throtI
the open windows of the State Hou1
from livery stable near-,y m
days business had been arduous. N
was hot and sticky and the flies as.
saulted the silk-stockinged legs of thu
honorable members with vigor ant
real tory vindictiveness. Witt
handkerchiefs and all available paper&
the fathers of liberty dashed the fiesf
but with no avail. The onslaught Del
came uncomfortable and the member
captivating made haste to sign and
bring the momentous business to
close.
OF the fifty-six signatures not al
were attached, even at this dan
Richard Henry Lee, after proposiH
his resolution. had been called home
by the illness of his wife and 1t wns
that circumstance which gave Jeffr-
son the chance to frame the Declara-
ton. Lee was still absent when the
signing occurred and he had no oppor.
tunity to aff1y his name until the fol- !
lowing September. Elbridge Gerry OF
Massachusetts and Oliver WOcott OF
Connecticut also signed i'm September.
Samuel Chase of Maryland, home on +
important business. wrote to John
Adams. under date of July 5, inquirins
How shall | transmit to posteriU
that / have given my ASSENT
Adams replied on the 9th. explaining
that:
AS soon as an American seal
Is prepared, ] conjecture the Declara.
ton will be subscribed by all the
members. which will give you the op.
portunity you wish for"
Chase was one of the fifty who I
signed on the I'd of August amid the
flies
Elbridge Gerry was also very anxl-
Gus about his signature and wrote 70
both John and Samuel Adams from
kingsbridge, n. Y, under date Of
July Il. desiring to know If they could =
not sign his name as his proxy. but ns y
did so himself later.
George Wythe of Virginia signed
August q. Matthew Thornton of New
Hampshire was appointed a delegate
in Congress September Is. 1776. ana n
TOOK his seat in November, four
months after the adoption OF m
Declaration. He immediately declares
himself in favor of ii and was aHowed 3
TO sign.
Other signers who had not even pee"
chosen delegates at the time OF tne
ratification of July were BENJAMIN -
Rush, James Wilson, George Ros4
George Clymer and George Tayio
Five of the Pennsylvania delegates nae
refused to vote for the resoluton
favoring independence. The provincia'
assembly of the state revoked the ~
structions of June and elected new de'
egates favorable to independence, anu
these were among the signers =
August 9.