World’s Smallest Declaration of Independence

Francis Douglas discusses the 1860 Micro Declaration of Independence, emphasizing its significance as the world’s smallest version of this foundational document. He highlights its references to God and Creation, noting that it requires a microscope for viewing. Douglas promotes his collection of micro Biblical scripture and offers a presentation titled “Christ, Creation, and the Declaration of Independence.”

Listen to the Francis Douglas Podcast:

Podcast Transcript:

The 1860 Micro Declaration of Independence

Today on Celebrate the Bible, we’ll look at the smallest Declaration of Independence in the world.

I’m Francis Douglas.

Here in the United States, our nation’s birth certificate presents words and phrases representing God and Creation.

Those phrases are as follows:

The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God
Created and Creator
The Supreme Judge of the World
Divine Providence

As we celebrate our 250th birthday, do people of today’s United States know: that the Declaration of Independence references God and Creation?

When this extraordinary version of our nation’s birth certificate recently became available, I knew that I had to try my very best to add it to my extensive collection of micro Biblical scripture and art.

Why? … well … so I could one day share it with YOU!

Now, if you are listening to this as a podcast, and would like to see the photos associated with this episode, please visit my WordPress web site at: celebratethebible250.com

This copy of the Declaration of Independence is so small, that it has to be viewed under a laboratory microscope.

It was produced by microphotographer Joseph Israel Solomon of Great Britain, sometime around the year 1860.

Microphotography followed closely behind the invention of photography in the 19th century.

Since the entire document, reduced and recorded, is the size of a snowflake, imagine how small each letter has to be. It is simply mind-boggling!

There are many various printed, handwritten, and engraved versions of the Declaration of Independence … from the very first Dunlap Broadsides (printed overnight on the night of July 4th, 1776), to contemporary versions still being produced today.

There are a few individual copies of the Dunlap Broadside that are very famous and highly sought-after, such as the Corn-Driscoll Facsimile. This particular facsimile is so famous, that there are facsimiles made of the facsimile!

I am convinced that it is only through the God of the Christian Holy Bible that a document such as the Declaration of Independence could have sprung forth in the first place.

In other words, there would have been no United States of America without the Declaration of Independence; and there would have been no Declaration of Independence without Jesus Christ, the Creator.

The idea being that not only were the founders Christian, and not only did they build the foundation of the United States of America on Christian principles, they were also Creationists … believing in the Biblical account of Creation.

Many years ago now, I put together a traveling exhibit and live presentation on this very topic. Through the exhaustive study of personal correspondence and manuscripts through the National Archives, I defended my position by quoting our founding fathers in their own words.

Throughout the presentation, I answered two questions: (1) How does the Declaration of Independence point to scripture?; and (2) How does scripture point to the Declaration of Independence?

The 1840 TOPPAN ENGRAVING

Here is yet another micro-printing of the Declaration:

Only July 4, 1840, in Philadelphia, PA, Charles Toppan engraved the plate that was used to make this print of the Declaration of Independence. It is shown next to the size of a U.S. penny for comparison.

The words are so small, that one needs a strong magnifying glass, or even a microscope, to read it.

The Declaration is surrounded by the seal of the United States at the 12-o’clock position, with Thomas Jefferson on the immediate left, and George Washington on the immediate right. The original 13 colonies are then shown surrounding the text.

Once a plate is created, it can be used over and over again for copies. This particular copy was printed by the American Bank Note Company. The printing date is estimated to be around 1859-1860. ABN (as it is known) would later go on to work with lasers and holography, producing the American Eagle cover of the National Geographic magazine in the 1980s.

Toppan also did an engraving of Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration in 1829.

If it could possibly be reproduced accurately, this Declaration would fit onto the back of a standard sized business card. But it would take an incredible job at printing to do so.

As it stands, it is now part of the Celebrate the Bible collection, to go along with all of the recent acquisitions pertaining to the U.S. Declaration, and its references to God.

If you would like me to give this particular presentation at your church, school, or organization, my contact information is fd316@celebratethebible250.com

The title of my presentation is: “Christ, Creation, and the Declaration of Independence“.

Once again, this is Francis Douglas for Celebrate the Bible.

Have a great America 250 Independence Day!