Playing Midwives to an Egg

This is the day in 1776 that the Declaration Committee presented the final draft to the 2nd Continental Congress. On 11 June 1776 a committee was formed to write the declaration. On that committee were John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, & Robert R. Livingston. On 12 June, at the request of the other members Jefferson began writing it. When he finished the draft he presented it to the rest of the committee. Only Adams & Franklin offered suggestions that were incorporated. Somehow or other I don't think Jefferson, Franklin & Adams spent the period during the reading debating what our national symbol should be. When it was actually debated, Franklin did push for the turkey for the reasons given.




& debate on the text didn't actually begin until after Congress officially declared independence on 2 July. $ July was the date of approval of the final draft. What we think of as the Declaration (above left) wasn't actually presented to Congress until 2 August. & no, not everyone signed it that day. Some of the signers weren't in Congress at the time of the vote but signed when they joined. Others who did were no longer a part of Congress by the time this copy was ready to sign. & for some reason Colonel McKean didn't sign it til many months later. Still the musical 1776 is reasonably accurate in its potrayal of the events.