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Signers Of The Declaration Of Independence


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 final draft of the Declaration was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, although the date of its signing has long been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed on August 2, 1776, nearly a month after its adoption, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.


List of signers

Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the Declaration of Independence:

President of Congress

Connecticut

Delaware

Georgia

Maryland

Massachusetts Bay

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

South Carolina

Virginia