Who Signed Both The Constitution And Declaration Of Independence?

The United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are two of the country's most important documents. The Declaration of Independence, signed on August 2, 1776, proclaimed the independence of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain. The United States Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, established the country's system of government and outlined the rights and responsibilities of its citizens. But how many people signed both of these documents?

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The number of signers

The United States Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 Colonies. The signing occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. However, the date of signing has been a subject of debate, with some sources indicating that it took place on July 4, 1776, the same day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration.

The United States Constitution, on the other hand, was signed by 38 delegates (one delegate signed for another who was absent, bringing the total to 39) on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia. The Constitutional Convention assembled to revise the Articles of Confederation but ultimately drafted an entirely new frame of government.

Only six men signed both the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787: Roger Sherman, George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, James Wilson, and George Read.

Signatures on different sheets

The United States Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 colonies. The signing occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. However, signing continued through the fall of 1776 and perhaps as late as 1781 as delegates returned to or arrived at Congress.

The United States Constitution, on the other hand, was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 of the 42 delegates present at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The signatures are on the fourth sheet of the four sheets of parchment that make up the Constitution.

While the majority of the signatures for both documents were obtained on a single day, there were some differences in the signing processes. For the Declaration of Independence, the signatures were collected primarily on one day, but with some delegates signing later as they arrived at or returned to Congress. In contrast, for the Constitution, 39 signatures were obtained on the day of signing, including one delegate signing on behalf of another who was absent.

The signatures on the Declaration of Independence are grouped by state, with the exception of John Hancock, who signed as the President of the Continental Congress. The states are arranged geographically from south to north, with Button Gwinnett from Georgia signing first and Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire signing last.

In contrast, the signatures on the Constitution were obtained during a secret session, with delegates debating how much power to grant the central government, the number of representatives for each state in Congress, and how representatives should be elected. Loyal to their states and cautious about centralized power, the delegates crafted compromises and signed the Constitution despite their differing interests and views.

Signers' absence

The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. However, not all of the signers were present on the day of signing. Signing continued through the fall of 1776 and perhaps as late as 1781, as delegates returned to or arrived at Congress.

Eight delegates never signed the Declaration, including John Alsop, George Clinton, John Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, Robert R. Livingston, John Rogers, Thomas Willing, and Henry Wisner. Clinton, Livingston, and Wisner voted for independence but were away from Congress when the signing took place. Rogers, who had also voted for the resolution of independence, was no longer a delegate by the time of the signing. Willing and Humphreys voted against the resolution of independence and were replaced in the Pennsylvania delegation before the signing. Alsop, who favoured reconciliation with Great Britain, resigned rather than add his name to the document. Dickinson refused to sign, believing the Declaration premature, but he remained in Congress.

The United States Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, with one delegate signing for his absent colleague, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The signing of the Constitution took place in Philadelphia, where the delegates had spent three months in secret sessions debating the new Constitution. Some of the biggest questions they considered were how much power to give the central government, how many representatives each state should have in Congress, and how representatives should be elected.

Notably, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both diplomats serving abroad at the time, were absent during the signing of the Constitution. Jefferson was the Minister to France, while Adams was the Minister to the Netherlands and the Court of St. James's (Great Britain). However, both men stayed up to date on the Convention's progress through correspondence with their friends and colleagues in Philadelphia.

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Signers' reasons for not signing

Six individuals signed both the United States Constitution in 1787 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776: Roger Sherman, George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, James Wilson, and George Read.

The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates on August 2, 1776, with some signing later. However, some delegates refused to sign the document. Alsop, for instance, favored reconciliation with Great Britain and resigned instead of signing. Dickinson refused to sign, believing the Declaration premature, but he remained in Congress. Willing and Humphreys also refused to sign as they had voted against the resolution of independence.

The United States Constitution was signed by 39 delegates, with 12 of the 13 states being represented at the convention. Rhode Island refused to send delegates. Of the 74 delegates chosen, 55 attended, and 13 dropped out, either for personal reasons or in protest of decisions made during the deliberations. Thus, three individuals refused to sign the Constitution despite remaining engaged in the convention.

The signing locations

The signing of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution took place in different locations, with the former being signed in Philadelphia and the latter in Independence Hall, then known as the Pennsylvania State House.

The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, comprising 56 delegates representing the 13 colonies, approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. The signing of the Declaration occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. The date of signing has been a subject of debate, with some founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams claiming it was signed on July 4, 1776, the same day it was adopted. However, most historians and subsequent research support the August 2 date, as many signers were not present in Congress on July 4, and some even added their signatures after that date.

The Declaration of Independence was first publicly read on July 8, 1776, at noon simultaneously in three locations: Trenton, New Jersey; Easton, Pennsylvania; and in the yard of present-day Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where it was read by John Nixon.

The Signing of the United States Constitution

The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, but they opted to draft a new frame of government. On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the new United States Constitution, with one delegate signing for his absent colleague, bringing the total signatures to 39. The signing of the Constitution occurred in a single day, as evidenced by the first newspaper printings of the document on September 19, which included a list of all the signers.

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