07/04/2023
Thank you Chris Martinelli
On this date:
In 1776, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence is ratified.
After Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration on July 4, a handwritten copy was sent a few blocks away to the printing shop of John Dunlap.
Through the night, Dunlap printed about 200 broadsides for distribution. Soon, it was being read to audiences and reprinted in newspapers throughout the 13 states.
The first formal public readings of the document took place on July 8, in Philadelphia (by John Nixon in the yard of Independence Hall), Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania.
The first newspaper to publish it was the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6. A German translation of the Declaration was published in Philadelphia by July 9.
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(A timeline of events)
July 2, 1776: Independence is declared from Britain.
July 4, 1776: The changes made to Jefferson's original draft to the Declaration are ratified. Perhaps only John Hancock (The President of the Convention) and Charles Thomson (Secretary) signed it this day.
August 2, 1776: The best-known version of the Declaration is a signed copy that is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and which is popularly regarded as the official document. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19 and signed primarily on August 2.
