Listen to an archival recording of Senator John F. Kennedy reading the Declaration of Independence in its entirety, which was made exclusively for New York radio station WQXR's 1957 July 4th observance.
The Kennedy Library displays an original copy of the nation's founding document on Friday July 30 and Saturday July 31 from 8am to 8pm, and on Sunday August 1, from 8am to 3pm, capping Boston's weeklong celebration of American politics, traditions, and history as it hosts the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Known as a Dunlap broadside, this is one of the original 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence printed on the night of July 4, 1776, by Philadelphia printer John Dunlap. As of 1989, only 24 copies of the Dunlap broadsides were known to exist, until a flea-market shopper bought a framed painting for four dollars and discovered the folded Dunlap behind the painting. Sotheby's and an independent expert authenticated the copy. TV and film producer, Norman Lear, and his wife Lyn, purchased the document on Sotheby's online auction in June 2000 for a reported $8.14 million. In 2003, they launched "Declare Yourself," a nonpartisan campaign that rallies America's young people to participate in the political process.