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Pictures of annual reenactment of first public reading of the Declaration of Independence

National Park Service ranger Ed Welch reenacts the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence behind Independecnd Hall Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

Ranger Ed Welch (left), as John Nixon, walks from Independence Hall behind fellow rangers portraying colonial militia.
Ranger Ed Welch (left), as John Nixon, walks from Independence Hall behind fellow rangers portraying colonial militia.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and four days later ringing bells called the colonists to the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) for the document's first public reading.

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