Sharing America - Reading of the Declaration of Independence

The Monroe CT 250 Committee and the Town of Monroe First Selectman, Terry Rooney, invite you for a reading of the Declaration of Independence! Listen for the ringing of the bells 13 times, with each toll representing one of the original 13 American colonies, at 6:30 p.m.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence inside the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Four days later, on July 8, 1776, after the Declaration was printed and distributed, the citizens of Philadelphia were summoned to the State House Yard by the bells of the city. Then, Colonel John Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence. 

Led by America250 Hawaii, Americans in all 50 States and 16 Territories of the United States will read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’ on July 8, 2026. America spans some 9,500-miles from one extreme to the other (the Caribbean across North America to the western edge of the Pacific). Even though the United States is spread across thousands of miles and nine different time zones, all of us in America may read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’, at the ‘same’ time.

Ceremony sponsored by the Monroe CT 250 Committee. For more information about the Monroe CT 250 Committee, visit https://www.monroect.gov/ or contact at monroect250@gmail.com