THE RIDE

Lightning cut through the sky as thunder clapped overhead. Rain streaked across Caesar Rodney’s face, making it difficult for him to see as his horse raced down the road. It had been 10 hours since he left Dover, Delaware, and time was running out. He needed to make it to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by tomorrow for the vote.

Up ahead, Rodney saw a barn with a soft glow of light inside. He urged his horse onward until they came to a quick stop in front of the barn doors. The horse sighed with exhaustion.

“I need another horse!” Rodney proclaimed. “It is a matter of urgency that I get to Philadelphia by morning.”

The man in the barn prepared another horse as Rodney explained the situation. Rodney needed to be in Philadelphia by morning—July 2, 1776—to cast a deciding vote. And it wasn’t just any vote—it was the decision to declare independence from Britain.

Delaware had three representatives. One of Delaware’s representatives believed the Thirteen Colonies should declare independence, while another did not. Rodney’s vote was the tiebreaker—the vote that would change American history forever.

THE VOTE

“Where was Rodney?” John Adams wondered nervously.

As members of the Continental Congress cast their votes, Adams wondered if the Delaware delegate would arrive in time.

“This is it!” Adams thought, as the reality of the situation became clear. After years of feeling oppressed by the British, the people of America would fight for freedom.
Rodney cleared his throat.

“As I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence,” Rodney said in a hoarse voice.

It was decided:
America would fight for independence!

The next day, July 3, Adams sat at his desk with a quill pen in hand and wrote to his beloved wife, Abigail.

“The Second Day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

THE EDITS

Benjamin Franklin adjusted his glasses as he squinted at the document in front of him. 

“More edits,” Thomas Jefferson said sadly.

Looking at his friend, Franklin could tell Jefferson was discouraged. Jefferson had worked so hard on drafting the declaration and was getting frustrated by how many edits it needed. Leaning in, Franklin nudged Jefferson’s shoulder.

“Let me tell you a story,” he said.

The story was about a man who had created a sign for a hat shop. The sign read “John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells hats for ready money,” with a little hat symbol next to it. The owner of the hat store, John Thompson, showed it to his friends for review. After a lot of discussion, his friends pointed out that much of what was written was unnecessary. They edited it, and edited it, and edited it again. The final sign read “John Thompson,” with a hat symbol next to it.

“I try to avoid writing documents that are going to be reviewed by the public,” Franklin said, placing a reassuring hand on Jefferson’s shoulder.

Too many editors often change a document so much that there isn’t much of the original left. Franklin thought Jefferson should not take Congress’s edits to heart.

While several of Jefferson’s favorite points were removed, the final document was eventually agreed upon. The Declaration of Independence was ready to go before Congress.

APPROVAL

It was a pleasant, sunny day when members of Congress gathered in the Pennsylvania State House. Jefferson’s hopes were high. All his hard work had led him to this moment. On July 4, just two days after Congress had voted for independence, a delegate’s booming voice read through the final declaration.

To Jefferson’s relief, the Declaration of Independence was accepted. Now, Congress just needed to print it.

PRINTING

John Dunlap’s hands trembled as he held the handwritten document. He looked at the man in the doorway of his printshop and asked, “How many copies should I make?”

“As many as you can,” the man responded.

The first copies of the declaration would be read out to people across the colonies. Dunlap thought for a moment. “I’ll work through the night.”

The Irishman immediately got to work, but it was difficult not to marvel at the document. Carefully, Dunlap placed the movable type on his printing press, making sure not a single letter was out of place. This was an important moment in history, and Dunlap wanted everything to be perfect.

For hours, the thumps, creaks, and groans of the printing press could be heard as an oil lamp flickered in the darkness. But as the sun slowly rose above the horizon, Dunlap leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief.

Holding up the broadsheet, Dunlap couldn’t hold back a smile as he read the famous opening lines.

“In Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled.”

America had declared its independence.