New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-07-04

der the supervision OF the committee
previously appointed to prepare it, and
that copies thereof be distributed to
all state assemblies and 10 the com
manding officers Of the army.
In accordance with the above or
der, the Declaration was issued as a
printed broadside on July 8, with the
heading: an Congress, July 4, 1875.
A Declaration by the Representatives
Of the United States of America in
General Congress assembled" II
bore the name in print Of John Han
cock. president Of the congress, and
IA attested by Secretary. Charles
Thomson. but bore no other names.
On July 10 it was resolved in CON
gress:
'That the Declaration passed or the
fourth be fairly e~ngrossed 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."
Ii could not have been sheaded
Unanimous" on July 4, for the New
York delegates had not then been au.
thorized to agree to IL. and II was not
until July 10 that 1t WAS announced
in the continental congress that the
assembly of New York had approved
the Declaration, and thus made IL
unanimous.
On August .. 1776, the Declaration
Of Independence, being engrossed and
compared, was signed by the men,
bers; those who were not present on
August 2 afixlng their signatures at
later dates, all but n signing before
January 1S, l777.
1t has been ascertained that Of the
fifty-siX %signers, more than o%ne-fourth
were not present on July 4, 1776, and
seven Of them-Thornton. Williams,
Rush, Clymer, Smith, Taylor and Ross
were not members or that date. On
the other hand. seven members on
that date-George Clinton, John Al.
sop. X. X. Livingston, Henry Wisner,
Thomas Willing, Charles Humphreys
and John Rogers-had not the privi-
lege OF becoming 'signers," for the
membership of all but one had ceased
prior To August 2.
The first official issue Of the Dec
laration bearing the names OF the
slgners was printed as a broadside In
Baltimore under the resolution OF
January Is, 1777, ordering that copies
be sent to each Of She 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. 1t Is authenticated In writing
by John Hancock as president Of con
gress and attested by Secretary Thorn
son.
Contrary to popular opinion. there
fore. IL Is seen that the Declaration
was not signed IN July 4. the day 1t
passed, but between August >. 1776.
and January IS, l777, after II had
been ,engroSsed and compared, and
then only by - members, all of whom
were OTufTfu W w ~ ny Nnf IfNDlu-
ton passed July 10. 1876. The name
of Thomas Mexican. which does not
appear among the signers in the
printed copy. was added later-pos-
sibly not until 1871, making tho fifty
sixth signer.
But little has ever been done to
perpetuate the memory Of these 81
early Americans, only a few of whom
are well-xnown. but II is interesting
To know that the National Society of
the Sons of American Revolution, In
cooperation with the Society Of De
s%cendants of the signers. is locating
the graves of those patriots, and pre-
pairing a memorial volume TO include
a biography Of each individual.