Fifty-six delegates are traditionally counted as signers of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document honored by America250.
The signers represented the thirteen colonies in the Continental Congress. Most signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776, after Congress had adopted the declaration on July 4. Several delegates signed later, so adoption and signing were separate stages.
The group included well-known figures such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. It also included delegates whose names are less familiar today but who represented their colonies during the independence debate.
The number 56 is a count of individual signers, not the number of colonies. The colonies numbered thirteen, and some colonies sent multiple delegates. That distinction explains why the declaration can be associated with both thirteen colonies and 56 signatures.