Declaration Reading & Reenactment
When in the course of human events...
On July 8, 1776, Colonel John Nixon emerged from the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) to deliver a message to the masses. Men, women, and children from across Philadelphia gathered on the square to hear the freshly penned words of Congress. They were merchants, sailors, soldiers, tradesmen, clerks, enslaved and free blacks eagerly awaiting news of independence.
This July 8th, be part of history as we celebrate and re-create that fateful day 250 years later.
Independence National Historical Park will host the annual re-enactment of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Independence Square on Wednesday, July 8. Park rangers at Independence NHP will reenact the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence at the very location where Colonel John Nixon read this great document to the public in 1776.
What: Reenactment of first public reading of Declaration of Independence
Where: Independence Square
When: Wednesday, July 8, Introduction by a park ranger starting at 11:30 a.m.
Declaration reading promptly at noon
This free event begins at 11:30 am with an introduction by a park ranger and will be held on Independence Square. Visitors may enter through the security screening tent on the south side of Independence Hall or participate from beyond the security fence. Those wishing to be on the Square should arrive by 11:15 am to ensure completion of security screening.
Costumed National Park Service rangers will mingle with the crowds and distribute free copies of the Declaration of Independence. Following the event, both uniformed and costumed park rangers will be available for interviews and photographs. An American Sign Language interpreter will be interpreting the event.
For more information, please visit the Park’s website: www.nps.gov/inde
The History
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence inside the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall). Four days later, on July 8, 1776, the citizens of Philadelphia were summoned to the State House Yard by the bells of the city. At noon, Colonel John Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence for the first time. Following the event and continuing long into the night the bells of the city rang in celebration.
Sharing the Spirit of America:
The Declaration of Independence Reading
Led by America250 Hawaii, Americans in all 50 States and 16 Territories of the United States will read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’ on July 8, 2026. America spans some 9,500-miles from one extreme to the other (the Caribbean across North America to the western edge of the Pacific). Even though the United States is spread across thousands of miles and nine different time zones, all of us in America may read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’, at the ‘same’ time.
Independence National Historical Park will host a second reading of the Declaration of Independence at 6:00pm.
More information coming soon!