July 4th - Declaration of Independence Reading Ceremony 2024

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

This year, the 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 the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Joanne S. Bass.

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-doc....

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.

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