Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790

This is a certified copy signed by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane and sent to Frederick the Great through his minister, Baron de Schulenburg.

This is a letter to Baron de Schulenburg, signed by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, "Commissioners Plenipotentiary for the United States of North America." In this letter, dated February 14, 1777, they ask the Baron at his earliest convenience to lay before the King of Prussia the enclosed Declaration of "Independency" and the Articles of Confederation of the United States of North America, to establish confidence and commerce between the two countries.

This is a certified copy of the Declaration of Independence, signed and attested by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, Ministers Plenipotentiary. It is the document originally enclosed in the joint letter sent by Franklin and Deane to Frederick the Great of Prussia. The original, engrossed copy of the Declaration is, of course, on display in the National Archives, but the copy here described is considered to be the only certified copy known to have survived to the present time.