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.

In 1820 the then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned William J. Stone, a printer, to create a copperplate engraving of the Declaration of Independence. This engraving was used to produce copies of the Declaration. The 1823 Stone engraving is now the most commonly replicated version of the Declaration.

The scene depicted was actually&nbsp;

Independence Hall

Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence

Eight Harvard alumni sign the Declaration of Independence.