July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve the Lee Resolution, effectively declaring the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain.[1] Two days later, on July 4, Congress formally adopted the final text of the Declaration of Independence, after making some alterations to Thomas Jefferson’s draft. The United States was officially born. All 56 signers of the document had just put their lives at great risk—signing what amounted to a death warrant if the Revolution failed.[2]
So what led to this historic moment? Why was Jefferson tasked with writing the document? And what was the fate of the signers?
The Leadup to July 4th
The American colonies had been at war with Great Britain for a little over a year. The famous “shot heard round the world” at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, had launched the colonies into armed conflict with the world’s preeminent superpower. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed in June 1775. While the Americans performed admirably, their limited resources were no match for the King’s professional army. As the war spiraled, the opportunity to reconcile with Great Britain dwindled. Signing a declaration of independence would be the point of no return—the final nail in the coffin of any hope for peaceful resolution.
The Unsung Hero: Richard Henry Lee
On June 7, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee proposed a resolution in the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent from Great Britain. (Note: Richard Henry Lee was not the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee; that was Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee III, a cousin in the extended Lee family of Virginia.)[3] On June 11, Congress appointed the “Committee of Five” to draft a formal statement explaining the decision: Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), John Adams (Massachusetts), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), and Robert R. Livingston (New York). The geographic spread helped ensure buy-in from across the colonies.[4]
The Committee of Five and Finalizing
Jefferson was selected as the primary author because of his reputation as an elegant and powerful writer, his relative youth (he was only 33), and his status as a Virginian from one of the largest and most influential colonies. John Adams, the driving force behind independence, persuaded Jefferson to take the lead, noting that Jefferson was better liked in Congress and a superior writer. From June 11 to June 28, Jefferson worked in his rented room on Market Street in Philadelphia, producing a draft with only minor suggestions from Adams and Franklin.[5]
In his impassioned rough draft, Jefferson included a powerful condemnation of King George III for enabling the transatlantic slave trade. He wrote that the King had “waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither” and called it an “execrable commerce.”[6]
However, the goal of the Continental Congress was to unite the 13 colonies against Britain. The passage risked alienating Georgia and South Carolina (heavily reliant on slave labor) as well as Northern merchants involved in the trade. Congress struck the entire section during debates on July 2–4, along with some other edits that shortened the document by about one-fourth. The committee submitted the draft on June 28. Congress resumed debate on the Lee Resolution on July 1 and approved it the next day. On July 4, the Declaration was formally adopted, giving birth to the nation we celebrate today.
The Aftermath
By August 2, most delegates had signed the engrossed parchment copy (a few signed later, with the last in 1781). The document was not the legal act of independence—that was the Lee Resolution—but its eloquent preamble and list of grievances against the King made it the philosophical cornerstone of the new republic.[1]
So the signers signed the Declaration, and everyone lived happily ever after, right? Not quite. While the most famous signers—John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (both future presidents), Benjamin Franklin (indispensable diplomat and elder statesman)—went on to illustrious careers, others faced tragedy. Nine signers died during the Revolutionary War or shortly afterward from illness, post-imprisonment health decline, and other causes.
Tragedy and Prosperity
Button Gwinnett of Georgia, for example, was killed in a duel in 1777. Many of these nine (and others) saw their property ravaged by British forces or suffered financial ruin. Several took on military roles. William Whipple of New Hampshire, a brigadier general, commanded a brigade at the pivotal Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and helped negotiate the British surrender.[7]
Two signers became presidents (Adams and Jefferson), one became vice president (Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts), and two served as associate justices on the Supreme Court (James Wilson of Pennsylvania and Samuel Chase of Maryland).
The British captured five during the war: George Walton, Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, Edward Rutledge, and Richard Stockton (the latter imprisoned specifically because of his prominence as a signer). Robert Morris, Carter Braxton, and Thomas Nelson Jr. suffered severe financial hardship—Nelson even used his own home as artillery cover during the Siege of Yorktown and later died in debt. It wasn’t pretty for everyone. These men risked their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the cause. In 1776, they fully understood that capture could mean hanging.[2]
A Republic, Not an Empire
People often underestimate just how pivotal the signing was. It was the bold first step in birthing what would become the greatest nation in history. Now, if only we could return to the republican ideals that our Founding Fathers envisioned. If they could see the United States today, I am confident the majority of them would be appalled.
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Endnotes and Bibliography
- [1] National Archives. “Lee Resolution (1776).” https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/lee-resolution. Accessed May 29, 2026. National Archives. “Creating the Declaration: A Timeline.” https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/timeline. Accessed May 29, 2026. National Archives. “Signers of the Declaration of Independence” (factsheet). https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [2] National Park Service. “Signers of the Declaration” (theme study). https://www.npshistory.com/publications/nhl/theme-studies/signers-declaration.pdf. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [3] Encyclopedia Virginia. “Henry Lee (1756–1818).” https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/lee-henry-1756-1818/. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [4] Monticello.org. “The Committee of Five.” https://www.monticello.org/the-declaration-of-independence/the-committee-of-five. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [5] National Constitution Center. “On this day, a committee forms to write the Declaration of Independence.” https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-a-committee-forms-to-write-the-declaration-of-independence. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [6] American Battlefield Trust. “Jefferson Condemns the Slave Trade in the Declaration of Independence.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/jefferson-condemns-slave-trade-declaration-independence. Accessed May 29, 2026.
- [7] Daughters of the American Revolution. “Signers of the Declaration of Independence.” https://www.dar.org/archives/signers-declaration-independence. Accessed May 29, 2026.
