DC -- Library of Congress -- Exhibit (Agile): Declaration of Independence News:
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LOCDOI_190918_22.JPG: Declaring Independence
In anticipation of a vote for independence from Great Britain, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia behind a veil of congressionally imposed secrecy in June 1776 for a country wracked by military and political uncertainties. Jefferson worked diligently in private for days to compose a document, which was first revised by John Adams and Ben Franklin, and then by the full Continental Congress before final adoption on the morning of July 4.
Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence was delivered directly to John Dunlap, who held the contract as printer for the Continental Congress. It is estimated that of the two hundred copies of the "Dunlap Broadside" that were printed on July 4, 1776, twenty-six survive, two of which are in the collections of the Library of Congress.
LOCDOI_190918_25.JPG: A Crucible for the Creation of the American Republic
Philadelphia was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in eighteenth-century North America. The bottom of the map contains an illustration of the State House of Independence Hall, home of the second Continental Congress, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
LOCDOI_190918_28.JPG: First Printing of the Declaration of Independence (reproduction)
The printed Declaration was sent on July 6, 1776, to George Washington by John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. General Washington had it read to his assembled troops on July 9 in New York, as they awaited the arrival of the combined British fleet and army. In 1783, at the war's end, General Washington brought this copy, now only partially intact, home to Mount Vernon.
LOCDOI_190918_32.JPG: Quickly Reprinted throughout America
After Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, and John Dunlap's initial print run was distributed by land and water from Philadelphia, printers throughout the British colonies quickly printed their own versions. This broadside from Kingston, New York, is one of the earliest imprints of the document.
LOCDOI_190918_43.JPG: Spreading the Word
The Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution ushered in an age of democratic revolutions. But unlike many later revolutions, America's war did not lead to unbridled violence and dictatorship; cooperation and compromise distinguish the creation of the United States from more violent revolutions. Despite great uncertainties, America's founders pressed forward to independence and, as the text of the Declaration spread, it became a lasting beacon for those seeking justice, human dignity, and self-government throughout the world.
LOCDOI_190918_45.JPG: First Newspaper Printing of Declaration
On July 6, 1776, Benjamin Towner's evening newspaper the Pennsylvania Evening Post, one of several newspapers in Philadelphia, reported that the Continental Congress had declared independence on July 2. Four days later Towner's was the first newspaper to print the full text.
LOCDOI_190918_52.JPG: Spreading the News
Newspapers were the primary means by which colonists learned of the cry for American independence. A very early printing of the Declaration of Independence appeared in Mary Katherine Goddard's Baltimore newspaper, the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser.
LOCDOI_190918_59.JPG: Declaration Reprinted throughout America
After Congress approved the Declaration of Independence and it was first printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. It was reprinted throughout the new nation. Here, the Pennsylvania Gazette with devastating irony printed the Declaration in columns one and two and rewards for runaway slaves and indentured servants in column three.
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