The 1776 handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence displayed at the National Archives is the engrossed copy.
An engrossed document is a formally prepared, carefully written final version. The Declaration’s engrossed parchment is the copy bearing the delegates’ famous signatures, including John Hancock’s large name. It is preserved in the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
The parchment should not be confused with Jefferson’s rough draft, which contains edits and changes made during the document’s preparation. It is also different from the Dunlap broadside, the first printed edition, and the Goddard broadside, a later printed version that listed the signers.
The engrossed copy is dated July 4, 1776, even though historians generally conclude that most delegates signed it on August 2. Its preservation gives America250 a direct physical connection to the document adopted 250 years earlier.