The Declaration of Independence was first publicly read on July 8, 1776.
The readings took place at noon in Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, John Nixon read the document to a crowd in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall.
This date is often confused with July 4, the day Congress approved the Declaration, and August 2, the date on which most delegates are believed to have signed the engrossed parchment. These were separate stages in the document’s adoption, publication, and formal signing.
The public readings helped transform a congressional decision into news for ordinary residents. Printed copies were distributed rapidly, including broadsides produced by John Dunlap, allowing the Declaration’s claims to circulate throughout the colonies and beyond.