After all, on July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress ended its debate and approved the resolution proposed on June 7 by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia and seconded by Adams.
July 2 seems like the logical day to celebrate. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Adams had been appointed to the Committee of Five to write a document—a declaration—that told the world why the colonies cut ties with Britain. Thomas Jefferson had been working on a draft, which he gave to Adams and Benjamin Franklin for their review. Then he incorporated their changes into the draft, and submitted that draft to Congress.
The delegates debated it, took out passages critical of the English people and of slavery, and adopted it on July 4.
The Declaration of Independence was not signed by any of the delegates until early August, after being engrossed on parchment by Timothy Matlack, a Philadelphia beer bottler who had fine penmanship. Most delegates gathered to sign the parchment copy on August 10, but a few others signed it later. Eventually, 56 delegates would put their names on it.
NOTE: Ironically, both Adams and Jefferson died within a few hours of each other - on July 4th, 1826.
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