This customized Declaration of Independence contains the exact same words as the original document without any variation at all—same spelling (and occasional misspellings), punctuation, capitalization, etc. It's just been carefully reformatted into a modern font (versus old-style cursive) to make it easier to read. It has the same 56 signers at the bottom in the same six columns as the original—they're just italicized names instead of signatures to easily identify who signed it.
The layout has been stylized to reflect the look of the original, with all its more calligraphic elements retained such as in the heading and certain words or phrases, e.g., "united States of America" and "Free and Independent States," where more ornate lettering was used and appears to have been written more deliberately and firmly to make it stand out.
The item is designed to hang on the wall and comes with –
- parchment paper
- wood frame (9 ¼" x 14 ¾")
- glass pane
Written in 1776, the Declaration of Independence has been referred to as the "soul of our country." Without the Declaration of Independence, there is no United States, there is no Constitution. While Thomas Paine greatly influenced public support for independence, the declaration itself was written by Thomas Jefferson, with input from John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other Continental Congress patriots. It details in fair-minded, inspired prose the long history of abuses and injustices suffered by the American colonies under Great Britain's King George III and why, reluctantly, they could no longer be subject to the British Crown. At the peril of committing treason, 56 courageous men then signed the document.
Decades later, Abraham Lincoln advocated strongly that the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence should serve as the moral compass by which the Constitution is interpreted.