Most people can figure out that it’s been almost 231 years since the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared the American colonies’ independence from Great Britain. But how much do you really know about the events that took place in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776? Test your knowledge with this quiz (answers on the jump):
S.C. Signers
1. Edward Rutledge of Charleston bears what distinction among the 56 signers of the declaration? A. The only signer born in Ireland; B. The youngest signer; C. Recognized by future President John Adams as one of the strongest proponents of immediate independence.
2. Thomas Lynch Jr. of Georgetown was born on what plantation? A. Hopsewee; B. Hobcaw Barony; C. Hampton.
3. Arthur Middleton of Charleston was generally considered to be aligned with which faction of Congress? A. Radicals; B. Centrists; C. Loyalist Tories.
4. Thomas Heyward Jr. of Jasper County is remembered for: A. Being wounded in battle; B. Being captured by the British after the fall of Charleston; C. Re-writing the lyrics to “God Save The King” to make it a patriotic song; D. All of the above.
It’s the timing
The Declaration set in motion which of the following events? A. The British attacks at Lexington and Concord, Mass.; B. The costly British “victory” at Bunker Hill; C. The defeat of British naval forces at Sullivan’s Island; D. All of the above; E. None of the above.
Author! Author!
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? A. Thomas Jefferson; B. John Hancock; C. Ben Franklin; D. A committee of five members.
Save the date
1. On what day did Congress declare the 13 colonies independent of Great Britain? A. July 2; B. July 3; C. July 4; D. Aug. 2
Time of the signs
On what day did delegates begin signing the Declaration? A. July 3; B. July 4; C. July 19; D. Aug. 2.
SC Signers
1. B. At 26, Rutledge was slightly younger than fellow South Carolinian Thomas Lynch Jr. (Rutledge was born Nov. 23, 1749; Lynch on Aug. 5, 1749). For the record, Rutledge, who worked to delay a vote on independence, was described by Adams as “a swallow, a sparrow, a peacock; excessively vain, excessively weak, and excessively variable and unsteady; jejeune, inane, and puerile.”
2. A. Hopsewee, located on the North Santee River.
3. A. Middleton advocated the tarring and feathering of loyalists and was considered a firebrand patriot.
4. D. Heyward was wounded defending Port Royal Island, captured at Charleston and imprisoned at St. Augustine, where he altered the lyrics of the popular loyalist song to “God Save the 13 States,” creating a popular hymn of defiance.
It's the timing
E. The raids at Lexington and Concord took place on April 19, 1775; attacks against Bunker and Breed’s hills in Boston occurred on June 17, 1775; and Patriots defeated the British fleet at Fort Moultrie on June 28, 1776.
Author! Author!
D. The declaration was drafted by a committee appointed on June 11, 1776: John Adams (Mass.), Roger Sherman (Conn.), Benjamin Franklin (Pa.), Robert Livingston (N.Y.) and Thomas Jefferson (Va.). Jefferson wrote the first draft, which the committee revised before submitting it on June 28. It was edited by the entire Congress on July 2 and 3rd before its approval on July 4.
Save the date
A. On July 2, with a draft of the Declaration of Independence still stuck in parliamentary limbo, Congress passed a brief resolution authored by Richard Henry Lee of Virgina. It read in part: “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
Time of the signs
D. Congress voted to approve the Declaration on July 4, and as many as 200 typeset copies (called “Dunlap Broadsides”) were printed and distributed on July 5. Congress ordered the preparation of a handwritten parchment copy on July 19, and delegates began signing it on Aug. 2. There were at least five late signers, including Matthew Thornton, who was elected after the vote but signed anyway, and Thomas McKean, who probably signed sometime after Jan. 18, 1777, and is generally believed to be the final signatory. One of the members of the original Committee of Five, Robert Livingston of New York, was recalled before Aug. 2 and never actually signed the document he helped craft.
Sources: The National Archives (www.ourdocuments.gov, www.archives.gov); Colonial Williamsburg (www.history.org), The National Parks Service (www.nps.gov); National Geographic (tinyurl.com/3age4), Middleton Place Plantation (http://www.middletonplace.org/), Hopsewee Plantation (www.hopsewee.com) and www.ushistory.org, For an interactive version of John Trumbull’s painting “Declaration of Independence” go to tinyurl.com/2ew48e.
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