Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire, exists in a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published broadsides. The earliest known draft of the Declaration of Independence is a fragment known as the "Composition Draft." The draft, written in July 1776, is in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration. It was discovered in 1947 by historian Julian P. Boyd in the Jefferson papers at the Library
United States Declaration of Independence that the Declaration of Independence was signed. The adoption of the Declaration of Independence was dramatized in the 1969 Tony Award–winning musical "1776" and the 1972 film version, as well as in the 2008 television miniseries "John Adams". In 1970, The 5th Dimension recorded the opening of the Declaration on their album "Portrait" in the song "Declaration". It was first performed on the "Ed Sullivan Show" on December 7, 1969, and it was taken as a song of protest against the Vietnam War. The Declaration of Independence is also a plot device in the 2004 American film "National Treasure". United