Boston To Show Declaration Of Independence Original Copy July 4

BOSTON — Have you ever seen one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence? Well, on July 4, the Commonwealth Museum will pull its original copy of the Declaration of Independence and display it 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in honor of the holiday, according to the Secretary of State.

The rare document — one of 14 — was printed in the Baltimore shop of Mary Katherine Goddard, and bears the famous signature of Massachusetts’ own John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. After the document was signed, the Continental Congress sent it to Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War.

Goddard was the second printer to issue copies of the Declaration of Independence and the first to identify the original signatures on it. She was also the first female post master in the United States.

The Commonwealth’s signed copy of the Declaration of Independence is a popular Fourth of July attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the Commonwealth Museum on July 4th in recent years, according to officials.

In addition to the Declaration of Independence, the museum will also have a select number of historic treasures from the Massachusetts Archives’ vaults on special display for the day.

You can gawk at letters from John Hancock announcing the Declaration of Independence; a 1781 warrant signed by John Hancock for expenses related to the celebration of the anniversary of our Independence; an Officers Account Book from the War of 1812 with one of the earliest written references to the phrase “Uncle Sam;” and a letter from Robert Gould Shaw regarding the deployment of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, according to the Secretary of State.

The Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum is at Columbia Point in Dorchester, next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and just around the corner from the JFK/UMASS red line stop. Admission and parking are free.

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