Editor's note on July 8, 2022: This story quotes the U.S. Declaration of Independence — a document that contains offensive language about Native Americans, including a racial slur.
On July 4, America will celebrate 244 years since the continental congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
NPR marks the celebration with what has become a Morning Edition tradition: the annual reading of that document. Below is the original text of the Declaration of Independence, alongside photos of the NPR staff members who performed the reading.
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1 of
— Steve Inskeep
Mike Morgan / NPR
2 of
— Rachel Martin
Mike Morgan / NPR
3 of
— David Greene, NPR
/ Mike Morgan
4 of
— Noel King
Mike Morgan / NPR
5 of
— Don Gonyea
Doby Photography / NPR
6 of
— Lauren Frayer
Sergey Gershkovich / NPR
7 of
— Joe Palca
Mike Morgan / NPR
8 of
— Audie Cornish
Allison Shelley / NPR
9 of
— Shankar Vedantam
Douglas Sonders / NPR
10 of
— Lulu Garcia-Navarro 2017 square
Stephen Voss / NPR
11 of
— Sylvia Poggioli
Wanyu Zhang / NPR
12 of
— Langfitt
/ Steve Barrett
13 of
— Cheryl Corley
Allison Shelley / NPR
14 of
— Nina Totenberg
Allison Shelley / NPR
15 of
— Headshot of Scott Detrow, 2018
Stephen Voss / NPR
16 of
— Michel Martin
Stephen Voss / NPR
17 of
— Ayesha Rascoe at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 22, 2018. (photo by Allison Shelley)
Allison Shelley / NPR
18 of
— Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
/ Jacques Coughlin
19 of
— Mary Louise Kelly
Stephen Voss / NPR
20 of
— Ailsa Chang
/ Mike Morgan/NPR
21 of
— Sam Sanders
Corey Seeholzer / NPR
22 of
— Renee Montagne
Allison Shelley / NPR
23 of
— Anthony Kuhn
/ Wang Zemin
24 of
— Gene Demby 2013
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
25 of
— Ari Shapiro
Stephen Voss / NPR
26 of
— Eyder Peralta
Kainaz Amaria / NPR
27 of
— Susan Stamberg
Allison Shelley / NPR
28 of
— Scott Horsley
Doby Photography / NPR
29 of
— Hannah Allam
Shatha Alawsy / NPR
30 of
— Emily Feng at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., March 19, 2019.
/ Allison Shelley
31 of
— Franco Ordoñez
/ Wanyu Zhang
32 of
— Melissa Block at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., September 27, 2018.
/ Allison Shelley