Three locations hosted the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence celebrated by America250.
The readings took place simultaneously at noon on July 8, 1776, four days after Congress adopted the Declaration. The locations were Philadelphia, Trenton in New Jersey, and Easton in Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, John Nixon read the document in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall.
These readings helped move the Declaration from a congressional decision into a public announcement. Printed copies were distributed rapidly, allowing communities throughout the colonies to learn that Congress had declared independence from Great Britain.
The first readings are sometimes confused with later military readings. George Washington ordered the Declaration read to his troops in New York City on July 9. That event was important, but it was not one of the three simultaneous first public readings. The distinction makes the number three the precise answer for this milestone.