NO way the Declaration of Independence is an original. A piece of paper can' last 230 years. Do You agree?

Question

There is no way a piece of paper can last 230 years, period. I have old report cards that are 20 years old from the 7th grade that are nearly decomposed (all A’s & 1 B+ on the report cards). How can people possibly the original copy is on display? I challenge anyone to put up a valid argument a piece of paper would not decompose over 230 years.

Answer 1

The original handwritten copy has not survived. I have heard that hemp paper can survive that long.

Answer 2

Documents can last or detierioate for many reasons. The Declaration of Independence was and still is a treasure to many, and has been treated as such, it is preserved in a controlled enviroment. Heat, air,moisture, dirt, and germs can destroy anything, giving the right combination, also the quality and the kind of paper are surely atributtes to it's stamonia. Recently there were scrolls found in a cave that are to believed to be more than a thousand years old

Answer 3

Good quality paper can last 230 years. I'm sure the founding fathers were aware that this was a historic document, and chose good paper.
A few copies of the Gutenberg Bible still exist. Illuminated manuscripts that are even older can still be found. I own a sheet of music from the middle ages. There are papyrus documents that are thousands of years old.
If I remember correctly, the paper for Declaration of Independence was made from hemp.

Answer 4

Paper can last indefinately. Paper nowadays is made by using acid to pulverise the pulp, and the acid can remain active in most environments, making it brittle. But old paper is made by mechanically pulverizing the pulp, and can last indefinately in the right circumstances.

The Declaration of Independence was destroyed or lost soon after signing but immediately reproduced. Somebody in the 19th century reproduced the document by lifting ink off the original to make a lithograph. That accounts for most of the document's deteriorated appearance.

Answer 5

The Declaration of Independence isn't on paper, it's on parchment. And have you ever seen it? It's nearly decomposed as it is; the ink's all faded, the ends are all chipped.... It's not gonna last much longer!

Answer 6

in the right environment good quality paper can last almost indefinetly. I doubt your report cards were stored in a climate controlled dry environment. There are many papyrus scrolls that have partially survived thousands of years in the desert.

Answer 7

Honestly, not having seen it, or studied it, I can't prove to you that it's real.

However, I would assume that the Declaration of Independence, as the important document that it is, was preserved a little better than somebody's middle school report card.

Answer 8

For one thing, it's not paper, it's parchment.

Materials like paper and parchment can last thousands of years if preserved in a dry place. This is how there are still ancient Egyptian papyruses in near-perfect condition.

Answer 9

As you of course know, the declaration of independance is what our country is based off of. They kept it safe for a reason to wear it would last over 200 years. You haven't kept your report cards in the same state as the D.O.I has been kept. And i'm sure you haven't taken good care of them, they've prly been in a box somewhere collecting dust.

Answer 10

There are numerous "pieces of paper" in museums that date back more than a thousand years - you should go to one sometime and read about them. The "Dead-Sea Scrolls" for example.