Which newspaper was the first to publish the Declaration of Independence?

The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to publish the Declaration of Independence.

It printed the declaration on July 6, 1776, two days after the Second Continental Congress adopted the final text. Newspaper publication allowed readers beyond the congressional meeting place to learn the wording and reasons for independence.

The declaration had already been printed as broadsides by John Dunlap on July 5. Those separate sheets were distributed to political leaders, military officers, and communities throughout the colonies. The newspaper publication was the first appearance in a newspaper.

The Pennsylvania Evening Post should not be confused with the Pennsylvania Gazette, an earlier and better-known Philadelphia newspaper associated with Benjamin Franklin. The publication history shows how quickly the declaration moved from congressional adoption into public circulation.