Editor's note on July 8, 2022: This story quotes the U.S. Declaration of Independence — a document that contains offensive language about Native Americans, including a racial slur.
Twenty-eight years ago, Morning Edition launched what has become an Independence Day tradition: hosts, reporters, newscasters and commentators reading the Declaration of Independence.
It was on this date 240 years ago that church bells rang out over Philadelphia, as the Continental Congress adopted Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Below is the original text of the Declaration, alongside photos of the NPR staff members and contributors who performed the reading.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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— Steve Inskeep
Doby Photography / NPR
![Renee Montagne](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/68c60d2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Freneemontagne_38_wide-97cd3a0240c685aed2574c13b1b49de8543b461b.jpg)
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— Renee Montagne
Renee Montagne
Doby Photography / NPR
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— David Greene
David Gilkey / NPR
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— Lakshmi Singh
Stephen Voss / NPR
![Julie McCarthy](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a547ada/2147483647/strip/true/crop/362x223+17+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fjmccarthy.150_wide-7d9f47d19c9fe49c2a5f010b808def36f30bb868.jpg)
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— Julie McCarthy
Julie McCarthy
/ Wen Wang
![Don Gonyea](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/35726bd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2163x1332+101+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fdongonyea_6_wide-4cc63bd4007f7f93ebe815a5ff3e221b47f469a4.jpg)
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— Don Gonyea
Don Gonyea
Doby Photography / NPR
![Deborah Amos](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/73f697d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fdamos_wide-c07719f79d77cff2a4410d1e5a241fccbf381746.jpg)
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— Deborah Amos
Deborah Amos
/ Steve Barrett
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— Joe Palca
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Audie Cornish 2010
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Shankar Vedantam
Gary Knight / VII
![Lourdes Garcia-Navarro](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0048bc8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fgnavarro_wide-4532053260435ae4758949603b8e67e6783b5665.jpg)
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— Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
/ Dario Lopez Mills
![Sylvia Poggioli](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2a90b47/2147483647/strip/true/crop/620x382+30+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fx087_0c04_9_wide-932b120892513e88fae1fd39f8468c8e7803a511.jpg)
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— Sylvia Poggioli
Sylvia Poggioli
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
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— Langfitt
/ Steve Barrett
![Cheryl Corley](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4f5bbb4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fccorley_wide-e4992681d1f9402bdc7b6331d87b93088417ce69.jpg)
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— Cheryl Corley
Cheryl Corley
Steve Barrett / NPR
![Nina Totenberg](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f593514/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2104x1296+98+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fntotenberg_sig07_2_prn_clr_wide-29073b64166e71fc00cf8c41df8ed85420e0f75a.jpg)
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— Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg
Steve Barrett / NPR
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— Michel Martin
Steve Voss / NPR
![Elizabeth Blair](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1888a5c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fnpr3-10_wide-faf59bd3a3a65dae839367079655c1f2b570304f.jpg)
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— Elizabeth Blair
Elizabeth Blair
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
/ Jacques Coughlin
![Robert Smith](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/80cbc82/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Frsmith_sig_2007_prn_clr_rev_wide-df611e59f61daad433a8a077b62a1c5f69060115.jpg)
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— Robert Smith
Robert Smith
Steve Barrett / NPR
![Mara Liasson](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a66a7da/2147483647/strip/true/crop/615x379+29+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fnew-image_wide-46fb08763691384240912ab05ffac1cc02d7f29d.png)
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— Mara Liasson
Mara Liasson
Doby Photography / NPR
![Linda Wertheimer](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/25c3292/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Flwertheimer_wide-bec8c8a01cc703c5afec9ca0993114f79b49d091.jpg)
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— Linda Wertheimer
Linda Wertheimer
/ Steve Barrett
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— Sonari Glinton 2010
Doby Photography / NPR
![Jackie Northam](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/639ba9d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fjnortham2_wide-ea831befa6a6513f5f3064c88008eb3823d5eba8.jpg)
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— Jackie Northam
Jackie Northam
/ skphotomedia
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— Michele Keleman
Doby / NPR
![Ari Shapiro](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb55302/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Farishapiro_37_wide-ed6b4b2f62a5cafbf2f0826bf1e2f718629044c4.jpg)
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— Ari Shapiro
Ari Shapiro
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Asma Khalid 2016
Stephen Voss / NPR
![Susan Stamberg](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7dbc31c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fsusanstamberg_28_wide-72525a28fc7c7f9adb85d5025285531eaa84ee25.jpg)
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— Susan Stamberg
Susan Stamberg
Doby Photography / NPR
![Scott Horsley](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/19b0dfb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fscotthorsley_1_wide-34a5e6cfb25020a44ca0a5eb16f0b12488cc4d24.jpg)
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— Scott Horsley
Scott Horsley
Doby Photography / NPR
![Cokie Roberts](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/71d1ed0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/492x303+24+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fcroberts_wide-3fd0470c54a961a76e6840f75c467502ea4ecc93.jpg)
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— Cokie Roberts
Cokie Roberts
Steve Fenn / ABC, Inc.
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— David Greene
David Gilkey / NPR
![Renee Montagne](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/68c60d2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2192x1350+104+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Freneemontagne_38_wide-97cd3a0240c685aed2574c13b1b49de8543b461b.jpg)
31 of 32
— Renee Montagne
Renee Montagne
Doby Photography / NPR
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f3f2185/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1364x840+66+0/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F12%2F15%2Fsteveinskeep_wide-a48f0a156f89e665b4f735ff250e7f106aaebbce.jpg)
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— Steve Inskeep
Doby Photography / NPR