For the Declaration of Independence, 4th July 1776 gets all the attention because it was the date that was printed in huge font at the top of the first unsigned version. But it was 2 August 1776 when the new calligraphic "engrossed" version was signed, by most of the 56 delegates of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia.
Here's the page from Charles Thomson's handwritten "Corrected Transcript Journal" for what Congress did that day. No pomp or ceremony, just an efficient reference –
“Friday August 2. 1776.The declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed by the members.”
and then they moved on to regular business.
Image from Fold3.com
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It would be over 40 years later when the United States began to craft its national narratives - like all nations, a blend of history and mythology, to shape a sense of common identity and patriotism.
The Declaration was then given new life and reverential importance – historian Pauline Maier described it as "American Scripture".
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had fallen out, and they had differing memories of what had happened back on 4 July 1776. So it was one of the signers, Thomas McKean, who put pen to paper to clarify who did what and when.
Jefferson would later say that, had he known what a big deal the Declaration would become, he wouldn't have allowed anyone to edit his first version, and would have kept the fame for himself.
In 1817, artist John Trumbull was commissioned to paint a imagined scene of 2 July 1776, when the committee presented its draft to Thomson.
The painting was unveiled on the 50th anniversary – 4 July 1826. That very same day, their life's work complete, Jefferson and Adams both died.
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