For America250, 56 delegates’ names appear on the engrossed Declaration of Independence.
The engrossed copy is the carefully handwritten parchment now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It carries the names of 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the thirteen colonies that declared independence.
The number 56 does not mean that all delegates signed in a single ceremony on July 4, 1776. Congress adopted the Declaration on that date, but most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2. Some delegates were absent and added their names later, which is why historians distinguish the adoption date from the signing process.
John Hancock’s large signature is the most famous, but he was only one of the 56 names. The group also included future presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, as well as Benjamin Franklin. The original parchment is often called the engrossed copy because “engrossing” meant preparing an official document in a formal handwritten version.