Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence

The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial is accessible to the public by crossing a wooden bridge onto a small island set in the lake between Constitution Avenue and the Reflecting Pool, not far from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

History

Public Law 95-260 was passed by Congress in 1978 to create a memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is a gift from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration and consists of 56 stone blocks, each with a facsimile of the signer's actual signature, his occupation, and his home town. It was dedicated on July 4, 1984, exactly 208 years after the Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence.

Memorialized signers

Fifty-six delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and are honored at this Memorial:

President of Congress

1. John Hancock (Massachusetts)

New Hampshire

2. Josiah Bartlett

3. William Whipple

4. Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts

5. Samuel Adams

6. John Adams

7. Robert Treat Paine

8. Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island

9. Stephen Hopkins

10. William Ellery

Connecticut

11. Roger Sherman

12. Samuel Huntington

13. William Williams

14. Oliver Wolcott

New York

15. William Floyd

16. Philip Livingston

17. Francis Lewis

18. Lewis Morris

New Jersey

19. Richard Stockton

20. John Witherspoon

21. Francis Hopkinson

22. John Hart

23. Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania

24. Robert Morris

25. Benjamin Rush

26. Benjamin Franklin

27. John Morton

28. George Clymer

29. James Smith

30. George Taylor

31. James Wilson

32. George Ross

Delaware

33. George Read

34. Caesar Rodney

35. Thomas McKean

Maryland

36. Samuel Chase

37. William Paca

38. Thomas Stone

39. Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia

40. George Wythe

41. Richard Henry Lee

42. Thomas Jefferson

43. Benjamin Harrison

44. Thomas Nelson, Jr. 45. Francis Lightfoot Lee 46. Carter Braxton

North Carolina

47. William Hooper

48. Joseph Hewes

49. John Penn

South Carolina

50. Edward Rutledge

51. Thomas Heyward, Jr. 52. Thomas Lynch, Jr. 53. Arthur Middleton

Georgia

54. Button Gwinnett

55. Lyman Hall

56. George Walton

See also

John Rogers, Maryland delegate who voted for the Declaration of Independence but left Philadelphia before the signing. Henry Wisner, New York delegate who voted for the Declaration of Independence but left Philadelphia before the signing. Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress Timothy Matlack engrossed the Declaration of Independence, which was then signed by the Founders. Founding Fathers of the United States Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence Independence Hall Syng inkstand List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2 Adams Memorial (proposed) Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Jefferson Memorial Signers Monument Washington Monument Architecture of Washington, D.C.

References

Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence – Constitution Gardens – National Capital Planning Commission

External links

1978 establishments in Washington, D.C. Cultural infrastructure completed in 1984 Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. National Mall National Mall and Memorial Parks United States Declaration of Independence Monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin John Adams United States Declaration of Independence in art United States Bicentennial Monuments and memorials to United States Founding Fathers