Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is an item found in the ruins of D.C's National Archives. It can be recovered by the Lone Wanderer for the Rivet City historian Abraham Washington.

Background
The Declaration of Independence is a pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were now sovereign states, no longer under British rule. The ruler of Great Britain when the Declaration was enacted was King George III.

The document was authored principally by Thomas Jefferson, and included sections such as the introduction, indictment, and preamble. In terms of signatories, 56 delegates signed the document, with John Hancock signing first and Button Gwinnett signing second. The phrase, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is from the document. Benjamin Franklin served as the oldest signatory and Edward Rutledge was the youngest.

Location
In the National Archives' Strongroom, in a safe in the back of the room where one encounters Button Gwinnett.

Related quests

 * Stealing Independence

Bugs

 * If one gives Abraham Washington a copy of the Declaration and take this item afterward, it will be stuck in the player character's inventory, weighing them down.
 * It can, however, be removed using the console command, or with the command to remove the "quest item" flag.
 * It seems if one takes the Bill of Rights from the National Archives and gives it to Abraham before they give him the Declaration of Independence, the game will assume the player has already given him the Declaration, and he won't accept it. Sydney will not stop following the Lone Wanderer if they have the document in their inventory, so one will either have to kill her or if on PC, use console commands.