Did Ben Franklin sign the declaration of independance?
~As to the document bearing that title, yes. As to the proclamation by which the Second Continental Congress actually purported to declaring independence from Great Britain, the Lee Resolution of July 2, 1776, no. Then again, the document held in the National Archives is not the document approved on July 4. The word “unanimous” in the title was not added until after the New York delegation finally cast its affirmative vote on July 9. Actually, the title wasn’t changed until Congress ordered the modification of July 19. The Dunlap Broadsides had been in circulation by July 5 – one of them having been sent to London. They were never signed. The original sent by the Congress to Timothy Matlock to be engrossed was either lost or destroyed. The engrossed copy was returned on August 2. There was no signing ceremony and it took almost a year to get “all” the signatures. The Congress had ordered that all members present for the vote were to sign. However, several of those members who had voted
