July 4th - Declaration of Independence Reading Ceremony 2023
Channel: US National Archives
Date: 04/07/2023

Join us now for our annual celebration of Independence Day at the National Archives, the permanent home of the original Declaration of Independence.

This year, the new Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, will welcome the crowds! Allison Seymour of WUSA9 News returns as our ceremony host. The keynote speech will be given by Doug Williams, Senior Advisor to the President of the Washington Commanders. 

Special guests George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Ned Hector, and Abigail Adams will give a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence, complete with leading the audience to boo and huzzah like the colonists of 1776!

The Continental Color Guard and the Fife and Drum Corps of the 3rd United States Infantry “Old Guard” will also take part in the celebration. 

Dr. Kimberly Hess and the Marymount University Chamber Choir will perform the National Anthem, and  soprano Millicent Scarlett will close out the event with “America the Beautiful.”

To learn more about the Declaration of Independence, visit https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration.

July 4th at the National Archives is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of John Hancock and Dykema.

#ArchivesJuly4 #CivicSeason