July 8, 1776, The Declaration of Independence is read to the public
- Thread starter shanneba
- Start date
KillerFord1977
Emissary
based on primitive communication lines in old times, it wasnt read around New England for days/weeks after.
The Declaration of Independence was first read publicly in Boston on July 18, 1776.
The Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, was carried to Boston by express riders, arriving on July 15, 1776. It was reprinted in the Salem newspaper, the American Gazette, on July 16, and then publicly proclaimed from the balcony of the Town House, now known as the Old State House, on July 18, 1776
shanneba
Professional
Dates found by Grok on X of when the Original Broadside printings reached the colony capitols.
New Jersey (Trenton area): Very quickly; public reading on July 8
Rhode Island (Providence/Newport): A Dunlap broadside arrived by July 6
New York (New York City/White Plains area): Reached Washington’s forces for reading on July 9; a copy arrived at the Provincial Congress in White Plains on July 9
New Hampshire (Exeter, Revolutionary capital): A Dunlap broadside arrived by July 16
Virginia (Williamsburg): The copy sent there arrived by July 19
Georgia (Savannah): Public reading on August 10
Maryland (Annapolis): Maryland Gazette published it on July 11 (implying arrival shortly before).
Benjamin Towne, publisher of The Pennsylvania Evening Post, produced some of the first newspaper printings, which appeared on July 6, 1776, making Philadelphians among the first to read the Declaration. A German-language translation was printed three days later in the Pennsylvanischer Staatsbote, for the area’s large German community.
Public Readings Reached Colonists Who Could Not Read
In the Revolutionary era, about half of adult white men could not read, making public readings essential for spreading news and political ideas. This was true in the summer of 1776 when readings of the Declaration of Independence were held in town squares, churches, taverns and military camps.
The first people to hear the words were in Philadelphia’s State House Yard (now Independence Square) on July 4. “There’s some belief that it may have actually been publicly read that day by either Charles Thomson or Timothy Matlack,” Vile says. This wasn’t a formal public reading, Vile explains. It’s likely Thomson, who was secretary of Congress, or Matlack, his secretary who engrossed the official document, read it aloud to a small group at the State House.
www.history.com
New Jersey (Trenton area): Very quickly; public reading on July 8
Rhode Island (Providence/Newport): A Dunlap broadside arrived by July 6
New York (New York City/White Plains area): Reached Washington’s forces for reading on July 9; a copy arrived at the Provincial Congress in White Plains on July 9
New Hampshire (Exeter, Revolutionary capital): A Dunlap broadside arrived by July 16
Virginia (Williamsburg): The copy sent there arrived by July 19
Georgia (Savannah): Public reading on August 10
Maryland (Annapolis): Maryland Gazette published it on July 11 (implying arrival shortly before).
Benjamin Towne, publisher of The Pennsylvania Evening Post, produced some of the first newspaper printings, which appeared on July 6, 1776, making Philadelphians among the first to read the Declaration. A German-language translation was printed three days later in the Pennsylvanischer Staatsbote, for the area’s large German community.
Public Readings Reached Colonists Who Could Not Read
In the Revolutionary era, about half of adult white men could not read, making public readings essential for spreading news and political ideas. This was true in the summer of 1776 when readings of the Declaration of Independence were held in town squares, churches, taverns and military camps.
The first people to hear the words were in Philadelphia’s State House Yard (now Independence Square) on July 4. “There’s some belief that it may have actually been publicly read that day by either Charles Thomson or Timothy Matlack,” Vile says. This wasn’t a formal public reading, Vile explains. It’s likely Thomson, who was secretary of Congress, or Matlack, his secretary who engrossed the official document, read it aloud to a small group at the State House.
How Was the Declaration of Independence Distributed? | HISTORY
People first heard about the Declaration of Independence from newspaper printings and public readings.