The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

1. The Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed on July 4, 1776.
On July 1, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, and on the following day 12 of the 13 colonies v**ed in favor of Richard Henry Lee’s motion for independence. The delegates then spent the next two days debating and revising the language of a statement drafted by Thomas Jefferson. On July 4, Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, and as a result the date is celebrated as Independence Day. Nearly a month would go by, however, before the actual signing of the document took place. First, New York’s delegates didn’t officially give their support until July 9 because their home assembly hadn’t yet authorized them to v**e in favor of independence. Next, it took two weeks for the Declaration to be “engrossed”—written on parchment in a clear hand. Most of the delegates signed on August 2, but several—Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean and Matthew Thornton—signed on a later date. (Two others, John Dickinson and Robert R. Livingston, never signed at all.) The signed parchment copy now resides at the National Archives in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, alongside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

2. More than one copy exists.
After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the “Committee of Five”—Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston—was charged with overseeing the reproduction of the approved text. This was completed at the shop of Philadelphia printer John Dunlap. On July 5, Dunlap’s copies were dispatched across the 13 colonies to newspapers, local officials and the commanders of the Continental troops. These rare documents, known as “Dunlap broadsides,” predate the engrossed version signed by the delegates. Of the hundreds thought to have been printed on the night of July 4, only 26 copies survive. Most are held in museum and library collections, but three are privately owned.

3. When news of the Declaration of Independence reached New York City, it started a r**t.
By July 9, 1776, a copy of the Declaration of Independence had reached New York City. With hundreds of British naval ships occupying New York Harbor, revolutionary spirit and military tensions were running high. George Washington, commander of the Continental forces in New York, read the document aloud in front of City Hall. A raucous crowd cheered the inspiring words, and later that day tore down a nearby statue of George III. The statue was subsequently melted down and shaped into more than 42,000 musket balls for the fledgling American army.

4. Eight of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in Britain.
While the majority of the members of the Second Continental Congress were native-born Americans, eight of the men v****g for independence from Britain were born there. Gwinnett Button and Robert Morris were born in England, Francis Lewis was born in Wales, James Wilson and John Witherspoon were born in Scotland, George Taylor and Matthew Thornton were born in Ireland and James Smith hailed from Northern Ireland.

5. One signer later recanted.
Richard Stockton, a lawyer from Princeton, New Jersey, became the only signer of the Declaration of Independence to recant his support of the revolution. On November 30, 1776, the hapless delegate was captured by the British and thrown in jail. After months of harsh treatment and meager rations, Stockton repudiated his signature on the Declaration of Independence and swore his allegiance to King George III. A broken man when he regained his freedom, he took a new oath of loyalty to the state of New Jersey in December 1777.

6. There was a 44-year age difference between the youngest and oldest signers.
The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin, 70 years old when he scrawled his name on the parchment. The youngest was Edward Rutledge, a lawyer from South Carolina who was only 26 at the time. Rutledge narrowly beat out fellow South Carolinian Thomas Lynch Jr., just four months his senior, for the title.

7. Two additional copies have been found in the last 25 years.
In 1989, a Philadelphia man found an original Dunlap Broadside hidden in the back of a picture frame he bought at a flea market for $4. One of the few surviving copies from the official first printing of the Declaration, it was in excellent condition and sold for $8.1 million in 2000. A 26th known Dunlap broadside emerged at the British National Archives in 2009, hidden for centuries in a box of papers captured from American colonists during the Revolutionary War. One of three Dunlap broadsides at the National Archives, the copy remains there to this day.

8. The Declaration of Independence spent World War II in Fort Knox.
On December 23, 1941, just over two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the signed Declaration, together with the Constitution, was removed from public display and prepared for evacuation out of Washington, D.C. Under the supervision of armed guards, the founding document was packed in a specially designed container, latched with padlocks, sealed with lead and placed in a larger box. All told, 150 pounds of protective gear surrounded the parchment. On December 26 and 27, accompanied by Secret Service agents, it traveled by train to Louisville, Kentucky, where a cavalry troop of the 13th Armored Division escorted it to Fort Knox. The Declaration was returned to Washington, D.C., in 1944.

9. There is something written on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
In the movie “National Treasure,” Nicholas Cage’s character claims that the back of the Declaration contains a treasure map with encrypted instructions from the founding fathers, written in invisible ink. Unfortunately, this is not the case. There is, however, a simpler message, written upside-down across the bottom of the signed document: “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.” No one knows who exactly wrote this or when, but during the Revolutionary War years the parchment was frequently rolled up for t***sport. It’s thought that the text was added as a label.

Author
Elizabeth Harrison
Website Name
HISTORY
URL
https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-declaration-of-independence

Happy Independence Day to all !!!!!

maximus Loc: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Very interesting! There are so many events in our history that are almost funny when you hear the t***h. Take Plymouth rock...It was identified by an older woman who had been told by her grandfather as a child that a certain rock WAS the Plymouth Rock.
I guess that the main thing is that the declaration WAS written AND signed. It IS one of two of our MOST important documents...the other being our constitution.
Really good post. I like knowing these "little" things.

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

Thanks, Maximus... me too. And thanks for that tidbit about the Rock.

Happy Independence Day to you and yours.....

bahmer

Very interesting information and thanks for posting all of that info.

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

My pleasure, bahmer!!! Great to hear from you.

Happy Independence Day!!!

bahmer

Same to you TCC. Have a great fourth. Don't eat to much now.

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

Lol... it’s not the eating you have to watch out for with me on this holiday, it’s the drinking! I drink one time a year.... it’s that time of year!

Cheers! My fellow countryman, and God Bless!

bahmer

OK be careful then. Get a designated driver if you go to far.

son of witless

" We hold these t***hs to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-"

" Their Creator " is God. Do not tell the Scum Bags that God is in the Declaration of Independence. They will have it banned. Not that they would ever read it.

Rose42

Very interesting post. Where did you get the picture of the eagle on the f**g? Nice!

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

Some sage advice there, and thank you. But I’m safely perched for the day.

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

And understanding the time frame when it was written is another issue.

Happy Independence Day!

The Critical Critic Loc: Turtle Island

Thanks! I found it online. It was supposed to be a GIF... not sure why it’s not moving.

Happy Independence Day!!!

son of witless

If you read the various pre independence documents of the colonies you will find God mentioned a lot. The Constitution was the first document that I know about where God is left out. In many P**********l speeches God is also mentioned many times. I wonder when those speeches will be erased from the public record ? I am sure none of Obama's speeches will be endangered.

Rose42

It says its a jpeg. Do you remember where you found it?

A Happy Independence Day to you as well!