M® IX THE SIGNING :KEAN maintains that "no person signed 3 the Declaration on July 4th; and his views, as set forth in a letter 2 to Messrs. Wm. M'Corkle & Son and in a letter to John Adams, were published in Niles' Weekly Register (N) of June 28 and July 12, respectively, 1817. The latter letter, written in January, 1814, when, as he himself declares, his sight was fading fast, though his writing might not discover it, says: [Qy] I will give you an historical fact respecting the declaration of Independence, which may amuse, if not surprize. in the On the 1st of July 1776 the question was taken by a committee of the whole of Congress, when Pennsylvania, represented by seven members then present, voted against it; 4 to 3; among the majority were Robert Morris & John Dickinson. Delaware having only two present, namely myself & M' Read, was divided: all the other States voted in favor of it. The report was delayed until the 4th 6 and in the mean time I sent an express 7 for Cæsar Rodney to Dover in the county of Kent in Delaware, at my private expence, whom I met at the State-house door on the 4th of July in his boots; he resided eighty miles from the city, and just arrived as Congress met. The question was taken, Delaware voted in favor of Independence 10, Pennsylvania there being only five members present, Mess" Dickinson 11 & Morrison 12 8 declared absent voted also for it; Mess" Willing & Humphries 13 were against it. Thus the thirteen States were unanimous 14 in favor of Indepence. Notwithstanding this, in the printed public journal of Congress for 1776, vol. 2, it appears, that the Declaration of Independence was signed on the 4th of July 1776 by the Gentlemen, whose names are there inserted 15, whereas no person signed 16 it on that day, and among the names there inserted, one gentleman, namely George Read Esquire, was not in favor of it; and seven were not in Congress on that day, namely Mess Morris, Rush, Clymer, Smith, Taylor & Ross, all of Pennsylvania, and M Thornton of New-Hampshire; nor were the six Gentlemen last named members of Congress on the 4th of July. The five for Pennsylvania were appointed Delegates by the Convention of that State on the 20th July, and M! Thornton took his seat in Congress for the first time on the 4th November following: when the names of Henry Wisner of New-York and Thomas McKean 18 of Delaware, are not printed as subscribers, tho' both were present in Congress on the 4th of July & voted for Independence. Here false colours are certainly hung out; there is culpability somewhere: what I have heard as an explanation is as follows; when the declaration was voted, it was ordered to be ingrossed on parchment and then signed, and that a few days afterwds a resolution was entered 19 on the secret journal, that no person should have a seat in Congress during that year until he should have signed the declaration of independence. After the 4th 20 July I was not in congress for several months 21, having marched with a regiment of associators as Colonel to support General Washington, until the flying camp of ten thousand men was completed. When the associators were discharged, I returned to Philadelphia, took my seat in Congress & signed my name to the declaration on parchment.22 This transaction should be truly stated, and the then secret journal should be made public. In the manuscript journal, M; Pickering, then Secretary of State, and myself saw a printed half sheet of paper 23, with the names of the members afterwards in the printed journals stitched in. We examined the parchment where my name is signed in my own hand-writing. Jefferson's notes, however, say: 24 the debates having taken up the greater parts of the 2o 3d & 4th days of July were, in the evening of the last, closed 25 the declaration was reported by the commee 26, agreed to by the house and present 27 signed by every member except mr Dickinson. Indeed, in a letter to Samuel W. Wells, written (in 1819) two years after the publication 28 of the letters of M:Kean, he quotes these notes and says that the Declaration" was signed by every member present, except mr Dickinson", on July 4th. Wells, at Boston, had written him, under date of April 14th: "[S] The imperfect record of the proceedings of the congresses prior to the Declaration of Independence, has buried in obscurity much important information Thus we are taught to believe that the question of the declaration was passed unanimously; but by mr Galloways examination before a Committee of the British parliament on American affairs, an account of which was published in London in 1779, it appears: "That the debates lasted nearly a fortnight and when the question. was put, six Colonies divided against six; the delegates for Pennsylvania being also divided, the question remained undecided. However, one of the members of that colony who had warmly opposed it being wrought up by mr [Samuel] Adams' art, changed his opinion, and upon the question the next day it was carried in the affirmative by a single vote only.' This is a very different account from that given in the printed journals, which we know to be incorrect particularly as it respects the time when it is stated to have been passed and the signatures attached to it. . . It has been stated. . . That on the question of the Declaration of Independence, he [Samuel Adams] spoke several hours, and that the arguments he adduced in its support were so cogent and conclusive, that he brought over some of those who were against it, and thereby secured its success? These assertions were made by the late Judge Paine. —" Jefferson's letter 29, dated Monticello, May 12th, is as follows: [P] An absence of some time at an occasional and distant residence must apologise for the delay in acknodging the receipt of your favor of Apr. 12. and candor obliges me to add that it has been somewhat extended by an aversion to writing, as well as to calls on my memory for facts so much obliterated from it by time as to lessen my own confidence in the traces which seem to remain I will now proceed to your quotation from m? Galloway's statement of what passed in Congress on their declaration of independance in which statement there is not one word of truth, some Λ and where bearing resemblance to truth, it is an entire perversion of it. I do not charge this on mr Galloway himself, his desertion having taken place 30 long before these measures, he doubtless 31 received his information from some of the loyal friends he left behind him, but as yourself as well as others appear embarrassed by inconsistent accounts of the proceedings on that memorable occasion, and as those 82 who have endeavored to restore the truth have themselves committed some errors, I will give you some extracts from a written document 88 on that subject; for the truth of which I pledge myself to heaven and earth; having, while the question of Independance was under consideration before Congress, taken written notes, in my seat, of what was passing, and reduced them to form on the final conclusion. I have now before me that paper, from which the following are extracts. 'On Friday the 7th of June 1776. the delegates from Virginia moved, in obediance to instructions from their constituents, that the Congress should declare that these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free & independant states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, & that all political connection between them and the state of Gr. Britain is, & ought to be totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together. the house being obliged to attend at that time to some other business, the proposition was referred to the next day when the members were ordered to attend punctually at ten oclock. Saturday June 8. they proceeded to take it into consideration, and referred it to a committee of the whole, into which they immediately resolved themselves, & passed that day and Monday the 10th in debating on the subject. It appearing in the course of these debates that the colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pensylva, Delaware, Maryland & South Carolina were not yet matured for falling from the parent stem, but that they were fast advancing to that state, it was thought most prudent to wait awhile for them, and to postpone the finel decision to July 1. but, that this might occasion as little delay as possible, a committee was appointed to prepare a Declaration of Independance. the committee were J. Adams. D! Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston and myself. this was reported to the house on Friday the 28th of June when it was |