Philadelphia produced the first newspaper publication of the Declaration of Independence on July 6, 1776.
The Pennsylvania Evening Post printed the Declaration two days after Congress approved it. The newspaper’s publication helped spread the text beyond the congressional meeting place and made the independence decision available to readers in printed form.
This newspaper publication should not be confused with John Dunlap’s broadsides. Dunlap printed approximately 200 broadsides soon after adoption, while the Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper known to publish the Declaration. Both forms helped circulate the document in 1776.
Philadelphia was the center of this early publication activity because Congress was meeting there, and the city had an established printing trade. Its printers played a major role in communicating revolutionary news during the founding period remembered by America250.