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)
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Renee Montagne (Doby Photography / NPR)
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David Greene (David Gilkey / NPR)
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Lakshmi Singh (Stephen Voss / 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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Joe Palca (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Audie Cornish 2010 (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Shankar Vedantam (Gary Knight / VII)
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Lourdes Garcia-Navarro ( / Dario Lopez Mills)
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Sylvia Poggioli (Kainaz Amaria / NPR)
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Langfitt ( / Steve Barrett)
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Cheryl Corley (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Nina Totenberg (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Michel Martin (Steve Voss / NPR)
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Elizabeth Blair (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Ofeibea Quist-Arcton ( / Jacques Coughlin)
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Robert Smith (Steve Barrett / NPR)
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Mara Liasson (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Linda Wertheimer ( / Steve Barrett)
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Sonari Glinton 2010 (Doby Photography / NPR)
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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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Asma Khalid 2016 (Stephen Voss / NPR)
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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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David Greene (David Gilkey / NPR)
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Renee Montagne (Doby Photography / NPR)
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Steve Inskeep (Doby Photography / NPR)