# Inalienable Rights on Hemp? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104 "2003-03-29T23:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/1 "2003-03-29T23:33:22Z")
I have seen many claims on the web that the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Unfortunately, most of these claims are made by sites named [hempisgreat.org](http://hempisgreat.org). Call me cynical. Is there any truth to the claim? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/2 "2003-03-30T00:41:31Z")
The copy they all signed was printed on parchment. Jefferson may have well written his notes, as well as his submitted “true copy,” on hemp paper – I wouldn’t know where to find that out. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/3 "2003-03-30T00:54:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nametag \* > \*\*The copy they all signed was printed on parchment. Jefferson may have well written his notes, as well as his submitted “true copy,” on hemp paper – I wouldn’t know where to find that out. \*\* What is the source for your claim that it’s on parchment? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/4 "2003-03-30T01:07:38Z")
The National Park Service: [Independence Historical Park, Philadelphia](http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/dube/inde2.htm) > [@](#): > > On July 19, the Declaration of Independence was ordered to be fairly engrossed on parchment and the title changed from A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled to The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. The engrossed copy of the Declaration was to be signed by every member of Congress. The document was probably engrossed by Timothy Matlack, a Pennsylvanian who had been an assistant to Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress. > > On 2 August 1776, the members of the Continental Congress assembled and it was recorded in the Journal that “the declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed [by the members].” My apologies; it was _engrossed_ on parchment, not printed (my eye skipped a paragraph). Engrossing refers to handwriting in large clear letters, as for a legal or official document. (like an act of Congress!) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/5 "2003-03-30T02:08:53Z")
Perfect! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/6 "2003-03-30T03:16:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*\*I have seen many claims on the web that the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Unfortunately, most of these claims are made by sites named [hempisgreat.org](http://hempisgreat.org). > > Call me cynical. > > Is there any truth to the claim? \*\* I’ve heard that his drafts were written on hemp paper, however, I don’t have any cites to justify this. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/7 "2003-03-30T07:00:46Z")
Real parchment? I’ve always assumed it to be on fake parchment, like many diplomas and such are today. Is real parchment any good for documents? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/8 "2003-03-30T15:48:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > **I have seen many claims on the web that the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.** Even if it was, I wouldn’t read much into it. In Jefferson’s day, hemp was just another crop, grown for a variety of uses. Making paper was one of them. Does anybody really think that Jefferson used hemp paper because he believed marijuana should remain legal through posterity? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/9 "2003-03-30T16:00:56Z")
I assume, from the tone of **Bricker** ’s posts, that he/she seeks to debunk. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/10 "2003-03-30T19:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Is real parchment any good for documents? As I understand it, parchment is distinguished from paper chiefly in being more durable and more expensive. So if you’ve got a really important document which you want to pass on to posterity, parchment would be a logical choice. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/11 "2003-03-30T22:58:07Z")
As I understand it, real parchment is/was made from animal skin. Sounds kinda yucky to me, and not very durable. Leather doesn’t last very long, does it? Couldn’t _paper_ parchment be made of hemp? 'Cause if it was, I got a Constitutional right to smoke dope. 😉 On preview, that 1st sentence sound’s smart-assed. Sorry, **Chronos** , it wasn’t meant to be. I don’t know a better way to phrase my reply. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inalienable-rights-on-hemp/165104/12 "2003-03-31T04:06:25Z")
Parchment (or vellum) was the primary writing surface for hundreds of years, and is very durable - more so than paper. I surely hope you were joking about leather not lasting long.