The debate, the vote, the pen! (The water, the towels, the delivery.) The Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence July 2 (not July 4) 1776. New York, which had abstained the day before, having received new instructions voted for independence July 3^rd.

The signed Declaration of Independence was published and read publicly with some fanfare July 4, 1776. July 4—not July2—became the date we celebrate Independence as a National holiday.

This You Tube clip from the wonderful HBO 7 episode miniseries documentary “John Adams,” shows the vote taken in the Congress, the reading of the signed Declaration of Independence in the Philadelphia public square July 4^, 1776, and the Adams family a few days later.*

*based on David McCullough’s brilliant biography, “John Adams.”