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-four years ago, Morning Edition launched what has become an Independence Day tradition: hosts, reporters, newscasters and commentators reading the Declaration of Independence.
It was 236 years ago this Wednesday 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)
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Renee Montagne (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Paul Brown (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Jean Cochran (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Julie McCarthy ( / Wen Wang)
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Don Gonyea (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Deborah Amos ( / Steve Barrett)
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Chris Arnold (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Mike Pesca ( / David Banks)
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Tamara Keith (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Lourdes Garcia-Navarro ( / Dario Lopez Mills)
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Sylvia Poggioli (Kainaz Amaria / NPR)
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David Greene (David Gilkey / NPR)
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Cheryl Corley (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Nina Totenberg (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Eric Westervelt ( / NPR)
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Elizabeth Blair (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Adam Davidson ( / Jay Paul)
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Robert Smith (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Mara Liasson (Doby / NPR)
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Linda Wertheimer ( / Steve Barrett)
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Tom Goldman ( / Steve Barrett)
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Jackie Northam ( / skphotomedia)
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Michele Keleman (Doby / NPR)
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Ari Shapiro (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Richard Knox ( / Jacques Coughlin)
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Susan Stamberg (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Scott Horsley (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Cokie Roberts (Steve Fenn / ABC, Inc.)
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Renee Montagne (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Steve Inskeep (Doby Photography / NPR)