A house RESOLUTION

to announce the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the declaration of Independence on july 4, 2026, which established the greatest experiment of liberty in the world, which has continued for two and a half centuries.

Whereas, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. Under the supervision of the Jefferson committee, which included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, the approved Declaration was printed on July 5, 1776, and a copy was attached to the journal of the Continental Congress for July 4; and

Whereas, the printed copies, bearing only the names of John Hancock, president, and Charles Thomson, secretary, were distributed to state assemblies, conventions, committees of safety, and commanding officers of the Continental troops; and

Whereas, on July 19, Congress ordered that the Declaration be engrossed (printed in a large hand) on parchment with a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and "that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress." South Carolina's signers included Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr., and Arthur Middleton; and

Whereas, communities, towns, cities, businesses, and citizens in the State of South Carolina should begin preparations and designate funds for celebratory activities to honor and recognize this momentous and historic semiquincentennial event. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, announce the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, which established the greatest experiment of liberty in the world, which has continued for two and a half centuries.

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