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A few facts about the Declaration of Independence, copied from https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/fascinating-facts/

Although Thomas Jefferson is often called the “author” of the Declaration of Independence, he was a member of a five-person committee appointed by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration. The committee included Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

The Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776. In fact, independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776, a date that John Adams believed would be “the most memorable epocha in the history of America.” On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the final text of the Declaration. It wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776.

Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration but there were subsequent 86 changes to that draft, including shortening the overall length by more than a fourth.

When writing the first draft, Jefferson primarily drew upon two sources: his own draft of a preamble to the Virginia Constitution and George Mason’s draft of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights.

On December 13, 1952, the Declaration of Independence (along with the Constitution and Bill of Rights) was formally delivered to the National Archives in Washington, D. C., where it has remained since then.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence.

Carlton dry July that is 😉