The first public readings of the Declaration of Independence were held 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 publicly in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall.
This date followed the document’s approval on July 4 and its early printing and distribution. Public readings allowed people who could not attend Congress to hear the declaration’s arguments and its announcement that the colonies considered themselves free and independent states.
The date is distinct from July 6, when the Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first newspaper to publish the Declaration. It is also distinct from August 2, the date on which most delegates are believed to have signed the engrossed parchment copy.