The Signers

They Did Not Sign on July 4

One of the most enduring myths about the Declaration is that it was signed by Congress on July 4, 1776, immediately after it was adopted. It was not.[reference:42]

On July 4, Congress adopted the text. The signed version was created later. On July 19, Congress ordered an engrossed copy — an official handwritten copy on parchment — for the delegates to sign. The actual signing began on August 2, 1776. Some delegates were not even in Philadelphia on that day. Others had not yet been elected to Congress. A total of 56 delegates eventually signed.[reference:43][reference:44]

John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress, was the first to sign. He used such a large, bold script that his name became synonymous with the act of signing itself — a “John Hancock” means a signature.[reference:45]

Lawyers, Planters, Merchants, and Farmers

The signers were not a random sample of the American population. They were, almost without exception, educated, propertied, and white. They were lawyers, planters, merchants, and soldiers. Many owned enslaved people. None were women. None were enslaved. None were Native American.

But they were also a remarkable group of men who had already risked much by taking up the cause of independence. And by signing, they risked everything.

Treason — Punishable by Death

Signing the Declaration was an act of treason against the British Crown. The penalty for treason was death — typically by hanging, drawing, and quartering. The signers knew this. They knew that if the Revolution failed, they would likely be executed. Their property would be confiscated. Their families would be left with nothing.

That is why the final sentence of the Declaration is so powerful: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” These were not empty words. They were a statement of what the signers were willing to lose.

“We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Declaration of Independence, 1776

How They Signed

The signatures were arranged by state, from north to south. New Hampshire’s delegates signed first, in the right column. Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina — the southernmost states — signed last, in the left column.[reference:46]

Matthew Thornton, one of the New Hampshire delegates, arrived late. Because there was no space left in the New Hampshire column, he signed at the bottom of the right column, below the Connecticut delegates.[reference:47]

Some delegates who voted for independence never signed. Robert R. Livingston of New York, a member of the Committee of Five, was not present on August 2. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania voted against independence and did not sign. Others simply were not in Philadelphia when the engrossed copy was ready.

The Price They Paid

The signers did not all suffer equally. Some lived long, prosperous lives. Others lost everything. But collectively, they paid a price that few modern Americans can fully appreciate.

Several signers had their homes destroyed or occupied by British forces. Richard Stockton of New Jersey was captured and imprisoned. Thomas Nelson Jr. of Virginia, a wealthy planter, reportedly ordered his own home fired upon so that it would not be used by the British — and died bankrupt a few years later. Carter Braxton of Virginia lost his fortune. Button Gwinnett of Georgia was killed in a duel. Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina was lost at sea.

Not all of these stories are fully verified, and some have been exaggerated over time. But the general truth holds: the signers risked everything, and many paid a heavy price.