What date was the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 1

It was adopted on July 2, 1776 after the Continental Congress made many changes in Jefferson's original draft. Once it was in acceptable form, it was verbally read into the journal of the Congress and a voice vote taken. That voice vote was the true adoption of the Declaration. The marked up draft then went to be written formally and enlarged. That was done and made ready by July 4, 1776. The new written document was compared to what had been written in the journal and adopted as the true version of what had been verbally approved on July 2. Only John Hancock and Charles thomson, Secretary of Congress, signed it on July 4, 1776. A new version was printed with most delegates signing on August 2, 1776.

Answer 2

The Declaration of Independence was first signed on July 4 1776, but only by John Hancock and the Secretary of the Constitutional Convention. About a month later it was decided that all of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress who voted for it should sign it. The Declaration was reprinted in an enlarged form and signed by most delegates on August 22, 1776 and by others on various days after that. This second version kept the July 4, 1776 date even though that document was not signed on July 4, 1776.

Answer 3

On May 15, 1776 the Virginia Convention agreed to instruct the Virginia delegation to the Second Continental Congress to propose to the Congress that the colonies declare independence from Britain. Accordingly, on June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee of Virgina rose from his seat and made a motion which in part went as follows: "Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.". Congress then began to debate the issue, because not everyone was for it, or agreed as to how it should be done. On June 11 a "Committee of Five" was appointed by Congress to prepare a draft of the document we know as the Declaration of Independence. Most of the writing was done by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The Committee of Five presented their draft to the Congress on June 28, 1776, and Congress spent the next two days debating and editing the words of the Declaration.

On July 1, 1776, with the Declaration completed Congress again began to debate Lee's resolution of June 7.

After many speeches, and after South Carolina reversed itself and voted for independence, by a vote of twelve for, none against, with one abstention (New York's delegation had no authority from the state to vote for it) on July 2 Congress officially separated the thirteen colonies from Britain, and "declared independence". John Adams famously predicted in a letter that day that July 2nd would be what we have today on the 4th of July.

On the 4th of July, 1776, Congress voted to approve the language of the document we call "The Declaration of Independence". There is debate over which, or if any of the delegates to Congress signed the parchment copy of it that day. Most signed on August 2, 1776, and one last one signed in November 1776.

Answer 4

The formal Declaration was presented on July 2, 1776. It was approved on July 4, 1774; however it was not signed until August 2, 1776.

Answer 5

June 2,1776

Answer 6

July 4, 1776

Answer 7

A+ = July 4, 1776