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-nine years ago, Morning Edition launched what has become an Independence Day tradition: hosts, reporters, newscasters and commentators reading the Declaration of Independence.
Church bells rang out over Philadelphia as the Continental Congress adopted this draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Below is the original text of the Declaration, alongside photos of the NPR staff members who performed the reading.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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— Steve Inskeep
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Rachel Martin
Stephen Voss / NPR
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— David Greene
David Gilkey / NPR
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— Julie McCarthy
/ Wen Wang
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— Sam Sanders 2017 square
Corey Seeholzer / NPR
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— Don Gonyea
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Deborah Amos
/ Steve Barrett
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— Joe Palca
Doby Photography / NPR
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9 of 33
— Audie Cornish 2010
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Shankar Vedantam
Gary Knight / VII
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11 of 33
— Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
/ Dario Lopez Mills
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12 of 33
— Sylvia Poggioli
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
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13 of 33
— Langfitt
/ Steve Barrett
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— Cheryl Corley
Steve Barrett / NPR
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15 of 33
— Nina Totenberg
Steve Barrett / NPR
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16 of 33
— Michel Martin
Steve Voss / NPR
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— Elizabeth Blair
Doby Photography / NPR
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18 of 33
— Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
/ Jacques Coughlin
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19 of 33
— Mary Louise Kelly 2010
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Mara Liasson
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Linda Wertheimer
/ Steve Barrett
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22 of 33
— Sonari Glinton 2010
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Jackie Northam
/ skphotomedia
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24 of 33
— Gene Demby 2013
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
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— Ari Shapiro
Doby Photography / NPR
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26 of 33
— Eyder Peralta
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
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— Susan Stamberg
Doby Photography / NPR
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28 of 33
— Scott Horsley
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Cokie Roberts
Steve Fenn / ABC, Inc.
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30 of 33
— David Greene
David Gilkey / NPR
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31 of 33
— Rachel Martin 2016
Stephen Voss / NPR
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32 of 33
— Steve Inskeep
Doby Photography / NPR
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— Mary Louise Kelly 2010
Doby Photography / NPR