Fifty-six delegates signed the Declaration of Independence, the central document of the 2026 United States Semiquincentennial.
The signatures were placed primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later renamed Independence Hall. The signers represented the thirteen colonies, which the Declaration described as free and independent states.
The document’s adoption and signing were related but not identical events. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, while the formal engrossed parchment copy was signed mainly on August 2. Some delegates signed later, and the exact timing has been debated because not every signer was present at the same time.
The 56 signers included well-known figures such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Signing the document was a dangerous political act because the British government considered rebellion against the Crown to be treason. The popular story that every signer was immediately hunted or executed is exaggerated, but the risk was real.