Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later to become known as Independence Hall. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 colonies, 12 of which voted to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The New York delegation abstained because they had not yet received instructions from Albany to vote for independence. The Declaration proclaimed the signatory colonies were now "free and independent States", no longer colonies of the Kingdom of Great Britain and, thus, no longer a part of the British Empire. The signers’ names are grouped by state, with the exception of John Hancock, as President of the Continental Congress; the states are arranged geographically from south to north, with Button Gwinnett from Georgia first, and Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire last.
John Trumbull's 1819 painting, Declaration of Independence, depicts the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Second Continental Congress
The 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence
The Syng inkstand was used during the 1776 signing of the Declaration and the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Post Office in 1869 issued for the first time a stamp commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both debated and ratified
Independence Hall in 1799, with the wooden steeple removed
The Governor's Council Chamber
The Supreme Court Room