Dunlap Broadside, the First Printing of the Declaration of Independence

The National Archives, home of the original Declaration of Independence, was proud to host our annual #ArchivesJuly4 celebration on the steps of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, in honor of #IndependenceDay.
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, expressing the grievances of the American colonies against the British Crown and their desire to form independent states.
While today the Declaration is considered one of the most important documents of American history, its 18th-century creators may have been less concerned with its legacy and more with its immediate purpose.
On the afternoon of July 4, 1776, a “fair copy” of the Declaration, presumably in Thomas Jefferson’s hand, was quickly dispatched to the nearby printing shop of John Dunlap, the official printer to Congress.
Dunlap printed an estimated 200 copies of the Declaration that were dispatched throughout the country. Now known as the “Dunlap Broadsides,” the content is largely the same as in the engrossed official version, but the use of simple type instead of calligraphy and a lack of the flamboyant signatures allows us to focus on the words.
The 26 surviving Dunlap Broadside copies belong to institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom.
📸: The Dunlap Broadside, July 4, 1776. National Archives Identifier 301682
📸: 1984 image of the Dunlap Broadside attached to the Rough Journal
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