<P> Trumbull painted the figures from life whenever possible, but some had died and images could not be located; hence, the painting does not include all the signers of the Declaration . One figure had participated in the drafting but did not sign the final document; another refused to sign . In fact, the membership of the Second Continental Congress changed as time passed, and the figures in the painting were never in the same room at the same time . It is, however, an accurate depiction of the room in Independence Hall, the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . </P> <P> Trumbull's painting has been depicted multiple times on U.S. currency and postage stamps . Its first use was on the reverse side of the $100 National Bank Note issued in 1863 . A few years later, the steel engraving used in printing the bank notes was used to produce a 24 - cent stamp, issued as part of the 1869 Pictorial Issue . An engraving of the signing scene has been featured on the reverse side of the United States two - dollar bill since 1976 . </P> <P> The apparent contradiction between the claim that "all men are created equal" and the existence of American slavery attracted comment when the Declaration was first published . As mentioned above, Jefferson had included a paragraph in his initial draft that strongly indicted Great Britain's role in the slave trade, but this was deleted from the final version . Jefferson himself was a prominent Virginia slave holder, having owned hundreds of slaves . Referring to this seeming contradiction, English abolitionist Thomas Day wrote in a 1776 letter, "If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves ." </P> <P> In the 19th century, the Declaration took on a special significance for the abolitionist movement . Historian Bertram Wyatt - Brown wrote that "abolitionists tended to interpret the Declaration of Independence as a theological as well as a political document". Abolitionist leaders Benjamin Lundy and William Lloyd Garrison adopted the "twin rocks" of "the Bible and the Declaration of Independence" as the basis for their philosophies . "As long as there remains a single copy of the Declaration of Independence, or of the Bible, in our land," wrote Garrison, "we will not despair ." For radical abolitionists such as Garrison, the most important part of the Declaration was its assertion of the right of revolution . Garrison called for the destruction of the government under the Constitution, and the creation of a new state dedicated to the principles of the Declaration . </P>

Did congress establish a taxing system before the declaration of independence