Fifty-six delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the engrossed Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776, after Congress approved independence and accepted the final wording. The famous parchment version was then engrossed, or written out neatly for signing. Most delegates signed on August 2, 1776, while some added their names later.
The 56 signers represented the thirteen colonies, but they did not all sign at exactly the same time. The document includes representatives such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson drafted most of the text, but he was one of several delegates who signed it.
A common mix-up is confusing the number of signers with the number of colonies. Thirteen colonies declared independence, whereas 56 individual delegates eventually signed the engrossed document. Their signatures made the parchment a lasting symbol of the founding era commemorated by America250.