Sharing the Spirit of America: The Declaration of Independence Reading 

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence inside the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Four days later, on July 8, 1776, after the Declaration was printed and distributed, the citizens of Philadelphia were summoned to the State House Yard by the bells of the city. Then, Colonel John Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence. 

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. 

The Bullock Museum will host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, presented by members of the Andrew Carruthers Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Patrick Henry Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Guests are invited to arrive early to explore the TSLAC America’s 250 display and engage with the Bullock Museum’s Declaration of Independence Conversation Cart.