Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence

The signing of the Declaration of Independence took place on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. The 56 delegates from the 13 colonies, except for New York, which abstained, voted to approve it on July 4, 1776. The Declaration declared that the colonies were now "free and independent States" and no longer a part of the British Empire. The signers’ names are grouped by state, except for John Hancock, as President of the Continental Congress. The final draft was approved on July 4, but it was signed on August 2, according to most historians.