Fifty-six people signed the Declaration of Independence, the founding document at the heart of America250. They represented the thirteen colonies in the Continental Congress.
The signing was not necessarily completed on July 4, 1776. Most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, while additional signatures were added later. The date printed on the document therefore differs from the main signing date.
The signers included well-known figures such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. The group was not identical to the committee that drafted the document, and the number of signers is different from the number of delegates who attended Congress or participated in the debates.