“Don’t sign that declaration, gentlemen! You’ll hurt business!”
Subject(s): Adams, John, 1735-1826, Big business, Declaration of Independence, Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790, Hancock, John, 1737-1793, Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826, Livingston, Robert R., 1746-1813, Sherman, Roger, 1721-1793, Signing ceremonies, Thomson, Charles, 1729-1824
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A sketch after Trumbull’s painting “The Declaration of Independence” shows John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Thomson, standing around a table where John Hancock is sitting, as a businessman labeled “Spirit of 1908” rushes in from the left. Caption: Where would we be now if modern counsel had prevailed in ’76?
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-03-04
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
“Don’t sign that declaration, gentlemen! You’ll hurt business!”. [March 4, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286057. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. “Don’t sign that declaration, gentlemen! You’ll hurt business!”. [4 Mar. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 29, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286057.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1908, March 4]. “Don’t sign that declaration, gentlemen! You’ll hurt business!”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286057.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 29, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.