Three locations hosted the first formal public readings of the Declaration of Independence.
The readings took place simultaneously at noon on July 8, 1776. They occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Trenton, New Jersey; and Easton, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, John Nixon read the document to the public in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.
The readings helped transform a congressional decision into a public announcement. Printed copies, called broadsides, were distributed throughout the colonies, allowing communities and military units to learn about the break with Britain.
The Pennsylvania Evening Post had already published the Declaration on July 6, making it the first newspaper to print the document. George Washington later ordered the Declaration read to the Continental Army in New York City on July 9.