Springfield members of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered near the carillon in Washington Park at 5 p.m. on July 8 read out loud the Declaration of Independence, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the first public reading of this founding document. Four days after the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, bells rang in Philadelphia to summon citizens to the State House Yard where Colonel John Nixon read the Declaration of Independence to the public for the first time. Public readings of the Declaration of Independence are held on July 8 throughout the United States.
DAR members rang a bell 13 times before reading the entire document, followed by reading the names of all 56 individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence.
These are the words most people remember and associate with the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” But as America celebrates its semiquincentennial, DAR members say it is a good time to read all 1,337 words that convey the American spirit, principle and values.
“Let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” The document sets forth numerous grievances against King George III, although his name does not appear. “A prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.”
After declaring: “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” the final words of the historic document are that…“we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Read the full Declaration of Independence here: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
