The 1776 Declaration of Independence is slipping from legibility. Conservationists say the ink is fading fast. The parchment itself is also deteriorating. It is fragile. Experts warn the text could soon become illegible. Historians argue this fragility may shift how the public views founding ideas.
Only one original copy lives west of the Mississippi. Jefferson’s June 1776 draft shows multiple drafting stages. A custodian rescued the parchment from destruction. That act lets the Founding Fathers’ radical notions keep shaping American political thought.