The Declaration of Independence

When the Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776, the signers did not know if the new country would be able to win its freedom from England. In fact, the summer campaign of 1776 was a disaster for the Continental Army. As the Continental Army retreated to New Jersey in December, the Continental Congress evacuated to Baltimore, Maryland to stay out of the reach of the advancing British Army. They took the original copy of the Declaration of Independence with them. To remind the colonists what they were fighting for, the Continental Congress decided to reprint the Declaration of Independence, this time with the names of the signers included. This was a bold move. It not only re-asserted US independence, it also exposed every single signer to charges of treason if they lost the war.

This is the Goddard Broadside, the copy of the Declaration of Independence printed by the Continental Congress on January 18, 1777. It was produced by Mary Katharine Goddard. Mary was an important printer, bookseller, and newspaper editor in Baltimore. She was a staunch patriot who used her newspaper to champion the cause of independence. She was also the postmaster of Baltimore, which meant she could easily circulate the reprint. She not only volunteered to print the Declaration, she also printed her name at the bottom, publicly identifying herself as a supporter of the new United States. This was an act of treason in the eyes of the British government and put her life at risk if the British won the war.

• Continental Congress: The governing body of the new United States during the American Revolution. 
• Continental Army: The army formed by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington.
• postmaster: A person in charge of a post office.
• treason: The crime of betraying one’s country.

• Pair this resource with A Call to Arms, Abolition and Revolution, Reflections from the Home Front, Sentiments of an American Woman, and Life Story: Judith Sargent Murray for a larger discussion of how women used the written word to promote their ideas during the American Revolution.
• Compare this resource with Life Story: Margaret Corbin and Life Story: Nancy Morgan Hart. Why might these women’s stories be better known than that of Mary Katherine Goddard? What does that tell us about how we value contributions to the war effort?
• For a lesson about women’s activism in the American Revolution, teach this together with The Edenton Tea Party, Protesting Tea, Spinning Wheels, Spinning Bees, and A Call to Arms.

ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN CULTURE

• For resources relating to the American Revolution in New York, see The Battle of Brooklyn.