COLUMBIA — A crew of the state’s top leaders gathered March 3 to declare the day a celebration of the Declaration of Independence.

Gov. Henry McMaster, Senate President Thomas Alexander, House Speaker Murrell Smith and Supreme Court Justice John Kittredge signed a proclamation formally recognizing and commemorating its 250th anniversary.

March 3 does not have any historical significance to the document. The Declaration of Independence was officially adopted July 4, 1776 and most delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the document August 2, 1776, with a few signing later.

The state leaders said it was a time to recognize the document’s enduring significance and South Carolina’s consequential role in shaping how its principles are reflected today.

They were joined by Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson, both candidates for governor, as well as numerous agency heads, including SLED Chief Mark Keel; Department of Transportation Secretary Justin Powell; Department of Natural Resources Director Tom Mullikin; Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver; and Department of Corrections Director Joel Anderson.

Addressing a crowd gathered on the second floor of the Statehouse lobby, McMaster called the Declaration one of the “greatest documents in human history,” saying South Carolina holds a special claim to its legacy.

“We laid the groundwork for these documents, and we wrote it down. A long battle… more than 200 battles and skirmishes were fought in this state, more than any other state,” he said, adding that the Constitution and the Bible are also remarkable documents.

“We today are the beneficiaries of their courage and their work,” he said.

McMaster and the other speakers said the event was intended to reflect on the nation’s founding ideals and ensure Americans continue to recognize and celebrate the Declaration. Each pointed to the courage required of the founders to draft and establish the document.

Alexander echoed McMaster’s remarks, calling the moment especially powerful as the group stood steps away from the leaders of the three branches of state government.

“What we have today in South Carolina and in this nation is rooted in those very words,” Alexander said.

Smith said the March 3 proclamation served as a reminder that “history isn’t something that’s distant.”

“What I appreciate most about this is it all began with principles,” Smith said. “Our state didn’t just witness the revolution, our state won the revolution, and our job is to protect those founding principles and not to reshape them to fit the moment.”