Declaration of Independence

 250 years ago today, leaders of the 13 states signed a Declaration of Independence from England.  

The event is captured in a large painting by John Trumbull, a New Haven born artist, that hangs in the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.  Thomas Jefferson was so impressed by Trumbull's plan to make a big painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, that he invited Trumbull to join him in Paris, where Jefferson was the ambassador. 

 With Jefferson's support, Trumbull painted the whole committee -- John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin -- presenting the draft of the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock, rather than Jefferson alone, which would have been historically accurate.  He also included all delegates to the convention, even those who were not present and those who opposed the Declaration.

Happy birthday, America.