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Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence

The physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence spans from its original drafting in 1776 into the discovery of historical documents in modern time. This includes a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published broadsides. The Declaration of Independence states that the Thirteen Colonies were now the "United Colonies" which "are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States"; and were no longer a part of the British Empire.

Parchment copies[edit]

The Matlack Declaration[edit]

The copy of the Declaration that was signed by Congress is known as the engrossed or parchment copy. This copy was probably handwritten by clerk Timothy Matlack, and given the title of "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America".[33] This was specified by the Congressional resolution passed on July 19, 1776:

, the first newspaper to print the Declaration, on July 6, 1776

The Pennsylvania Evening Post

used by the delegates to sign the Declaration

Syng inkstand

Printing of the United States Constitution

List of most expensive books and manuscripts

(1970) [Originally published 1922]. The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas at Google Books (Revised ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-70060-0. {{cite book}}: External link in |others= (help)

Becker, Carl

(1999) [Originally published 1945]. Gawalt, Gerard W. (ed.). The Declaration of Independence: The Evolution of the Text (Revised ed.). University Press of New England. ISBN 0-8444-0980-4.

Boyd, Julian P.

(1950). Boyd, Julian P. (ed.). The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.

Boyd, Julian P.

(October 1976). The Declaration of Independence: The Mystery of the Lost Original. Vol. 100. pp. 438–467. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)

Boyd, Julian P.

Hazelton, John H. (1970) [Originally published 1906]. The Declaration of Independence: Its History. at Google Books. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-71987-8. {{cite book}}: External link in |others= (help)

Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence

(1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-679-45492-6.

Maier, Pauline

(1975). The Story of the Declaration of Independence. New York: Oxford University Press.

Malone, Dumas

Phillips, Heather A. . Vol. VII. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Safety and Happiness; The Paradox of the Declaration of Independence

Goff, Frederick R. The John Dunlap Broadside: the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. Washington: Library of Congress, 1976.

from the Library of Congress

"Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents"

. Harvard University.

"Declaration Resources Project"

Three copies of the Dunlap Broadside are held by the UK National Archives.

Archived 7 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine from Duke University features the evolution of the text through the drafts

The Declaration of Independence Home Page

PBS/NOVA:

The Preservation and History of the Declaration