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There were nine known MS. copies of the Declaration : 



1. Jefferson's original first draft is now in the possession of the Depart- 

 ment of Slate at Washington. It contains five emendations by Franklin 

 and two by John Adams. 



2. On the 28th of June, 1770, a fair copy was submitted to Congress. 

 It was discussed on the 3d and 4'h of July, and passed late in the day of 

 the 4th of July. There is no evidence that this copy, or any other, was 

 signed, except by the regular official attests, on the 4th of July. All 

 traces of this copy have been lost for m^ny years. The engrossed copy 

 now in the Department of State at Washington, which is, of course, not 

 in Jefferson's handwriting, was signed on the 2d of August following — 

 some of the signers not having been in or meanbers of the Congress on 

 the 4th of July, while others who were there and voted for the Declara- 

 tion were not among the signers. 



Between July 4th and 8th, Jefferson wrote copies as follows : 



3. One for John Page. 



4. One for George Wythe. 



5. One for Edmund Pendleton. 



6. One for Richard Henry Lee, the copy now in the possession of the 

 American Philosophical Society, to which it was presented by Lee's 

 grandson. 



7. In 1825, Jefferson wrote that he had given a copy to Mazzei, who had 

 subsequently given it to a French countess. Of this we know nothing 

 further. 



8. A fair copy was written for Madison, perhaps fifteen years or so after 

 the copies made in 1776 were written. This is now in the possession of 

 the Department of State. 



9. In 1821, Jefferson wrote a copy which he inserted in his autobiog- 

 raphy. 



This Society has in its possession the letter, dated July 8, 1776, in 

 which Jed'erson presents to Richard Henry Lee the copy above num- 

 bered 6. Jefferson writes : " I enclose you a copy of the Declaration of 

 Independence as agreed to by the House, and also as originally framed ; 

 you will judge whether it is the better or worse for the critics." On July 

 21, Lee acknowledged it, and said : "I wish sincerely, as well for the 

 honor of Congress as for that of the States, that the manuscript had not 

 been mangled as it is." On this Mr. Ford observes: "In 1825, when 

 this manuscript came into the possession of your Society, John Vaughan, 

 who, I believe, was then your Secretary, wrote to Jefferson, asking 

 him 'if it was the original draft.' To this Jefferson replied, stating 

 it was not, but added : ' Whenever in the course of the composition, 

 a copy became overcharged and difficult to be read with amendments, 

 I copied it fair, and when that also was crowded with other amend- 

 ments, another fair copy was made, etc. These rough drafts I sent to 



distant friends who were anxious to know what was passing 



Whether the paper sent to R. H. Lee was one of these, or whether, after 



