The first public readings of the Declaration of Independence were held on July 8, 1776.
The readings took place four days after Congress adopted the document. They were held at noon in three locations: Philadelphia, Trenton in New Jersey, and Easton in Pennsylvania.
In Philadelphia, John Nixon read the Declaration aloud in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. Public readings helped transform a congressional document into a message intended for ordinary residents and soldiers.
The Declaration had already begun circulating in print. John Dunlap printed broadsides soon after adoption, and the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the text on July 6. These early readings and printings helped spread the announcement throughout the thirteen colonies, linking the 1776 event to the public commemorations planned for America250.