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Show The interesting story of the writing e-M . - -V "and signing of the Declaration of Inde- J&j '" , - - ' fcf pendence July 2 or August 2 better r4 - - entitled to celebration than July 4. X'-'A Af J TVV '"'L'l'AH history lias f listened upon I & our Impressionable minds n poetic J Pot"re f the slKnlriB of the Declnrn-1 Declnrn-1 : J, Hon of Independence as n graceful ,ul(l fiji-niiil function, taking place f July 4, 1771, In a large, handsomely furnished clinmber In Independence hall, l'lilludolphia. To give the nec-essnry nec-essnry touch of vivacity to the picture pic-ture there Is the Rcene of the small hoy darting from the door as the last signer sets his autograph to the precious parchment and dashing dash-ing down the street, calling to his grandfather, to "itlng! Oh, ling for liberty!" Our Ideal proclamation of the charter of American Amer-ican freedom must he shattered In the cnuse of truth. The Declaration of Independence was signed behind locked doors, and was not generally general-ly signed upon (lie Fourth of July at all. The city was not breathlessly awaiting the event outside, nor dlil the Liberty bell peal forth on that day the triumphal note of freedom. The accredited historian of the United States department of state Is Oaillard Hunt, Lift. D., LL. IX. now chief of the division of manuscripts in the Library of Congress. "There Is really no reason for our celebrating the Kourlh of July more than July 2 or August 2," said Doclor Hunt recently to an inquirer. "It was not until the latter date that the document was generally signed. i 1 "The Virginia bill of rights, of which George Mason was also the author, was drawn up and adopted in t lie last colonial assembly In Virginia prior to (he Revolution. The hill of rights is In effect a part of every constitution in the land today. to-day. It Is beyond doubt that this famous document, docu-ment, of which his elderly friend was author, was largely drawn upon by Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. "The fundamental principles of government set forth in Mason's hill of rights were the same as those in the Knglish petitions to the king, the acts of the long parliament and magna charta. J'You know, perhaps, that It was another Virginian, Vir-ginian, Ru harrf Henry Lee, who presented to congress, con-gress, on June 7, 1770, a set of resolutions eontnln-liiK eontnln-liiK the words, 'That these united colonies are, nn5 of right, ongl.it to lie, free and Independent states, and that all political connection between them $01 the state of Oreat Britain Is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.' j, "It was ns n result of the favorable voting upon Lee's resolutions that the well-known committee, composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Ben-jamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, Liv-ingston, was named to draft the docftment. The committee assigned the task of preparing the Instrument In-strument to the Virginian. Jefferson's was the master political mind and It was by no mere chance that he was called upon to write the document docu-ment which has been termed 'the best-known paper pa-per that has ever come from' the pen of an Individual.' Indi-vidual.' Drafting of the Declaration. ' "Thomas Jefferson was the personification of method," remarked Doctor Hunt, "and immediately immediate-ly upon receiving his commission to write the declaration he retired to the two rooms he rented as a working place at Seventh and Market place, Philadelphia, and prepared to give his country one of the greatest monuments of human freedom, f "The department of state owns the first draft of the Declaration which Jefferson presented, to the committee for its approval. His confreres made a few alterations, which are clearly shown in the text, and Jefferson has written beside ench change the name of its author, making the document of Inestimable value. "The fair copy which he made for presentation to congress, and which bears the congressional amendments and alterations, is lost. "The latter is the formal Declaration of Independence Inde-pendence laid before congress on June 28, 1776. It was then read and ordered to lie on the table until July 1. On July 2 a resolution was passed declaring the independence of the United States, although the exact form of the proclamation as prepared by Jefferson was debated upon until July 4, when, with some alterations and amendments, It was signed by John Hancock, president of the congress, and the signature attested by Charles Thomson, secretary of congress. "July 2 was actually the date of separation of the colonies from the mother country. On July 3 we find John Adams, whom Jefferson called the 'colossus of the colonies,' writing to his wife, Abigail, Abi-gail, in the following words: " ' esterday the greatest question which was over debated in America was decided, and a greater great-er perhaps never was nor will be decided among men.' Great Day Was July 2. "In a second letter, written the same day, he said: 'But the day Is past. July 2 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will he celebrated by succeeding generations as the anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance deliv-erance by solemn acts of devotion to God Al-riii'-hty.' "There Is little doubt but that the participants in the event considered July 2 as the true date of independence for the colonies, but popular fancy seized upon I he 4ih. the date of acceptance of Jefferson's Jef-ferson's formal and detailed setting-forth as the proper date ol" celebration. "John Trumbull's famous painting of the scene, hanging in the rotunda of the capitol. is a poetical piece of work and gives many of the portraits of the signers with faithfulness, but It Is somewhat fanciful. N" silken hangings draped the windows of that stilling room on July 4, 1770. and the beautiful beau-tiful order in which the men are ranged up for signing the immortal document Is also fictional. 1st- 'N- f ' It! 1 4 v x I , Jr , ft 1 : i L- , lr " ill " ' r,tl-y;"-;""';:' ..f"' yvi to , i ft - ivH-VI A - -1- ' ' ' - ' SA i :" 2r&fbinf 'the Decterztion of 'Independence I j lb "Tiie president of the congress, John Hancock, ""Ith the secretary, Charles Thomson, alone signed the autograph Jefferson document on that date. Immediately afterward it was hurried to the official offi-cial printer for congress, John Dunlap, to put in type and several copies were made. By next morning the printed copies of Jefferson's Declaration Declara-tion of Independence were in Hancock's hands. When he enme to write the proceedings for the Fourth' of July, 1776, Into the Journal of Congress, Con-gress, Charles Thomson, secretary of the congress, left a blank space for the Declaration and It is this broadside which now appears wafered into the space left for it in the Journal. "This broadside was sent out to the governors of the states, to the Continental army, and it is the paper from which the Declaration of Independence was read to the people July 8, when the Liberty bell was rung nnd the first public celebration was made In honor of the event." Signed August 2. "July 10 congress ordered that the Declaration passed' the 4th be fairly engrossed. It was very beautifully done on parchment. This is" the document which received the signatures of all the members of the Continental congress present In Independence hall, August 2, 1776. By this time, however," the membership had changed slightly, so that the "signers" were not Identical with the body of delegates who had declared for Independence Independ-ence a month before. Presumably It was at this 'time that Hancock, making his great familiar signature, sig-nature, lestingly remarked that John Bull could see it without his spectacles. One or two of the signatures were not actually affixed until a later date than August 2. " ' 'This is the treasured Declaration of Independence Independ-ence now in possession of the department of state " said Doctor Hunt. "It Is kept in a hermetically hermetic-ally sealed case, which is opened only by special order for verv especial reasons. It is faded, and it would have been better if this engrossed copy had been made on paper rather than parchment. It is so faded that few of the signatures are recognizable. recogniz-able. Nothing can now be done which will permanently perma-nently benefit It. "I believe the main cause of the fading was the impression taken In 1823, by order of President Monroe. Two hundred facslmilies were .then made to give a copy to each of the then living signers and others. Taking the impression removed the Ink." |
