The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1917-06-28

greSS, ana adopted. The independence
of the United Colonies was thus de-
clared, and thereupon congress i'm
mediately ordered that the declaration
be authenticated and printed under
the supervision Of the committee previ-
ously appointed to prepare it, and that
| copies thereof be distributed to all
| state assemblies and the commanding
| officers of the army.
In accordance with the above order.
the declaration was issued as printed
broadside on July 5. with the heading:
I'm Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declara-
ton by the Representatives OF the
United States of America, In General
Congress Assembled" 1t bore the
name in print of John Hancock, presI-
dent OF the congress. and was attested
by Secretary Charles Thomson, but
bore no other names.
On July 10 II was resolved In con-
gress:
THAT the declaration passed on the
4th be fairly engrossed on parch-
ment. with the title and stile (style)
of The Unanimous Declaration of the
Thirteen United States of America
and that the same, when engrossed.
be signed by every member of Con-
gress."
1t could not have been headed "Unan-
imous" on July 4. for the New York
delegation had not then been author
lied TO agree to It, and it was not un-
| TIL July ID that 1t was announced In
the Continental Congress that the as
sembly of New York had approved the
declaration and thus made 1t unani-
nous.
On August 2, 1776, the Declaration
Of Independence, being engrossed and
compared, was signed by the members.
those who were not present on August
2 affixing their signatures at later
dates. all but one signing before Janu-
ary IS, 1777.
Signing the Birth Certificate.
1t has been ascertained that of the
o6 signers more than One-fourth were
not present, on July 4, 1776, and seven
of them-Thornton, Williams, Rush.
Clymer, Smith, Taylor and Ross
were not members at that date. On the
other hand, seven members on that
date-George Clinton. John Alsop. r. R.
Livingston, Henry Wisner, Thomas
Willing, Charles Humphreys and John
Rogers-had not the privilege of be-
coming "signers," for the membership
of all but one had ceased prior to
August 2.
The first official issue of the declara-
ton bearing the names of the sIgners
was printed as a broadside in Balti-
more under the resolution OF January
Is, 1777, ordering that copies be sent
to each OF the united states. There
are only four copies OF this Is
sue now known TO exist, one of which
is in the library of congress at Wash
ington.
Not Signed on July 4.
Contrary to popular opinion, there
fore, 1t seems that the declaration was
not signed on July 4, the day 1t passed,
but between August 2, 1776. and Janu-
airy IS, 1777, after 1t had been engrossed
and compared, and then only by 50
members, all of whom were ordered to
do so by the resolution passed July
10. 1776. The name of Thomas Nc
Kean, which does not appear among
the signers in the printed copy, was
added later, possibly not until 1871,
making the SO signers.
But little has ever been done to per-
petuate the memory of these SO early
Americans. only a few Of whom are
well known, but It is interesting to
know that the National Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution, in
cooperation with the Society of De-
scendants of the Signers, is locating
the graves Of those patriots and pre-
pairing memorial volume to include
biography of each individual.
The collections I'm the National mu-
scum include relics pertaining to
the lives of nine of the slgners. They
are John Hancock, John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson. Matthew Thornton,
IOliver Wolcott, Charles Carroll, Ben
iamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry and
Samuel Chase.