The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. Enacted during the American Revolution, the Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step in forming the United States of America.[1]
Coverage[]
The Declaration of Independence is featured in Bound and Buried.
In 1 day after people, it still housed in the west wing of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The show gave information that of the 200 copies printed on July 4, 1776, only 25 survive, and the one housed at the Independence Hall is prized because it was the first to be read aloud in public and is virtually entombed. Karie DIethorn explains it is protected like a Russian nesting doll where it is contained within an oxygen-free environment, inside a climate-controlled case, room, and building. Without power, humidity will creep into the case and threaten the document, however it is made of natural cotton and linen fibers & unlike cellulose papers used in the modern time, it is stronger. Karie Diethorn thinks that linen rage paper would last thousands of years if it wasn't subjected to any environmental forces.
In 10 years after people, the Declaration of Independence is facing a threat against sunlight, a foe far worse than the British redcoats. However, the windows of Independence Hall's west wing were covered with panels to keep out the caustic rays of sunlight. Karie Diethorn explains that the ultraviolet light excites the molecules within the paper causing deterioration much more quickly. She continue that the slower frequency produces radiant heat which dry out the paper and increase the speed of deterioration. The failure of a single window pane is all it needs to put the Declaration in harm's way. Steven S. Ross stated that a small rock, a piece of another building, or a branch that blown by the wind will cause the window to break and once it fails, the deterioration accelerates. Without people, the wind makes quick work of the panels allowing daylight to streams into the building causing the words of the Declaration to disappear.
Its fate is revealed in 300 years after people when the Declaration of Independence lies in the rubble of the west wing, still intact in its bulletproof casing. The show gave information that the case have shielded the document since the year 2000 and was built to withstand the blow of a sledgehammer. However heat and light have left the linen rag paper brittle and desiccated and 3 centuries after people, it only took the first blast of air to penetrate through a worn seam of the case causing the document to disintegrate.
Trivia[]
- Despite the words of the Declaration of Independence starts to fade, the words is still seen readable in 300 years after people.
Gallery[]
