What 1777 broadside was the first to publish the names of the Declaration’s signers?

The Goddard Broadside was the first publication to list the names of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Congress authorized it in 1777 so authenticated copies could be sent to the states.

The earlier Dunlap broadside, printed in July 1776, was the first widely distributed printing of the Declaration, but it listed only the printed names of John Hancock and Charles Thomson. It did not reveal the full list of delegates who had signed the engrossed parchment.

Mary Katharine Goddard printed the later broadside in Baltimore. It included the names of the signers, with the possible exception of Thomas McKean, whose signature may have been added after the broadside was produced.

The Goddard Broadside helped transform a private congressional document into a public record of individual responsibility. That distinction is especially relevant when studying the people behind the Declaration commemorated by America250.