What good is a declaration if no one hears it? After the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the real work began: Announcing it to the American people and the world. 

In this episode of This Constitution, host Savannah Eccles Johnston is joined by Matthew Brogdon to explore how the Declaration of Independence was published, proclaimed, and received in 1776. Together, they trace the Declaration’s journey from Congress to the public square, examining how a fledgling nation used print culture, public readings, and a robust free press to unite the colonies and justify rebellion to the world.

Savannah and Matthew walk through the critical timeline from July 2 to July 4, explaining why Independence Day commemorates publication rather than the vote itself. They unpack the importance of John Hancock’s role as the public face of the Declaration, the significance of the Dunlap Broadside as the first printed versions Americans actually read, and why the famous handwritten parchment played little role in the document’s original impact.

The episode highlights how the Declaration spread rapidly through newspapers, churches, courthouses, and military camps, becoming as much an oral event as a written one. Public readings mobilized soldiers, artisans, farmers, women, and those unable to read, transforming the Declaration into a shared civic experience. Savannah and Matthew also explore the dramatic colonial reactions from celebrations and statue-toppling to loyalist resistance and rebuttals, revealing a nation deeply divided even at the moment of independence.

Finally, the conversation turns to the Goddard Declaration, the first printed version to include the signers' names, produced by Mary Katherine Goddard in 1777. The episode argues that the successful announcement of independence was not just a political achievement, but a triumph of the American free press and a powerful early expression of democratic communication.

In This Episode

• (00:18) The challenge of announcing independence
• (01:04) What’s new about the Declaration?
• (01:31) Congress’s role and the importance of eloquence
• (02:47) The Declaration’s immediate impact and fading
• (02:57) Timeline: July 2 vs. July 4
• (03:28) Why July 4th matters
• (05:24) John Hancock’s role in publication
• (08:10) The Dunlap broadside: the first printed Declaration
• (10:33) Dunlap’s editorial changes and official record
• (12:10) The engrossed copy vs. the Dunlap broadside
• (15:38) The technology and democratization of the Declaration
• (16:11) Distribution and public readings
• (17:45) First public readings and military announcements
• (19:11) The Declaration’s oral and print spread
• (21:07) The Declaration in print culture
• (23:20) Speed and reach of distribution
• (24:20) Colonial reactions: revolutionary celebrations
• (28:19) Colonial reactions: loyalist responses
• (32:13) The Goddard broadside: publishing the signers
• (35:21) The Declaration’s enduring legacy

Notable Quotes

• (03:32) “A declaration doesn’t matter unless you make it public.” — Matthew Brogdon
• (05:47) “It’s not Jefferson who is the face of the Declaration at first. It’s John Hancock.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• (10:23) “It  was the eighteenth-century version of going viral.” — Matthew Brogdon
• (16:11) “There’s something very democratic about the Dunlap broadsides.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• (17:24) “The Declaration was written to be read out loud.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• (25:22) “We’ve been tearing down statues since the very beginning.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• (35:34) “The Declaration of Independence announcement is a testament and a victory of the American Free Press.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston