Declaration of Independence on display at Commonwealth Museum

BOSTON — An original copy of the Declaration of Independence was put on display Tuesday morning at the Commonwealth Museum in celebration of Independence Day.

The Declaration, one of the original copies commissioned after the signing in 1776, was put on display at 9 a.m. and was slated to be out until 3 p.m. for public viewing.

The rare document was sent to Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War from the Continental Congress. It was printed in Baltimore and bears the famous signature of Massachusetts’ John Hancock.

When it was sent to Massachusetts, the copy came with a note that it was to be kept “in the archives of your state” to inspire future generations.

Every year on Independence Day, the Declaration of Independence is read aloud in its entirety from the balcony of the Old State House.

Read the full text here.

You can watch this year’s reading below.

Cox Media Group