Actual independence was declared by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. On that date, a resolution to declare independence from Great Britain was passed by a voice vote. The journals of the Second Continental Congress record this vote. The written Declaration was then authorized in order to make it known to the world that the colonies had declared their independence and give the reasons for doing so. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 will be forever remembered as the day of independence and celebrated with parties and fireworks. He was off by two days even though he was actually correct.
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== == Not all of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed it on August 2, 1776. Congress had fixed that date as the date for everyone to meet to sign it but there were several delegates who could not be there on that date and they signed it on different days after August 2, 1776
The Declaration was published in July, but Congress didn't approve it until October.
Thomas Jefferson, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, although he was a slave holder, and the Declaration had many parts taken out in order to get the Continental Congress to approve it.
They wrote it and signed it. It was announced in July but not in effect until August.
yes
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.