August bookends America’s Declaration decree

Most Americans associate July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence — the date it was adopted and proclaimed to the 13 original colonies. Less known is the history behind what it took to get the word to each colony from Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress convened,  north as far as Maine and south as far as Georgia, or that it took another 29 days to get all 56 signatures added and that wasn’t achieved until Aug. 2, 1776.