Facts about the Declaration of Independence
- 10
King George III's name was deliberately omitted from the Declaration of Independence, with Jefferson instead blaming Parliament and the British people for colonial grievances.
- 09
Copies of the Declaration of Independence were distributed to all thirteen state legislatures within weeks of July 4, 1776, with most arriving by August to inform colonists of the formal break from British rule.
- 08
The Declaration of Independence was printed on parchment made from sheepskin rather than paper, making it exceptionally durable and contributing to its survival over 248 years.
- 07
New York's Provincial Congress was the first official body to formally endorse the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, five days after Congress adopted it in Philadelphia.
- 06
Congress removed Jefferson's passage condemning the slave trade from the Declaration of Independence before final approval, eliminating approximately 25 percent of the original draft.
- 05
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson served on the five-member committee that revised Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence before its July 4, 1776 adoption.
- 04
A handwritten parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence required approximately 200 sheep skins to produce the paper stock for all official versions distributed in 1776.
- 03
Only 27 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence survived to see American independence officially recognized in 1783.
- 02
Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in just 17 days during June 1776 in a Philadelphia boarding house.
- 01
Fifty-six delegates signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, with John Hancock famously using an oversized signature.