The Declaration of Independence bears the signatures of 56 delegates, making 56 the number associated with the document commemorated by America250.
Those delegates represented the Thirteen Colonies in the Second Continental Congress. John Hancock, the congressional president, signed the parchment prominently, while the other delegates added their names as representatives of the newly declared states.
The signing is often pictured as if all 56 delegates signed together on July 4, 1776. In fact, most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, with some people adding their names later. Congress adopted the declaration’s text on July 4, but adoption and signing were separate stages.
The signatures carried serious political risk because the delegates were declaring separation from the British Crown during wartime. The parchment now preserved at the National Archives is known as the engrossed copy. Its formal title begins “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,” reflecting the document’s purpose and political claim.