Behind the Ink of the Declaration of Independence

Irish immigrant John Dunlap was the official printer of the Continental Congress. He operated a Philadelphia shop, which published newspapers, notices, and broadsides. His work for the fledgling government often required secrecy, as shown by this oath he signed.

When the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, Dunlap immediately began printing it. He worked late into the night, rapidly arranging letters and pressing the words onto paper. Postal riders distributed an estimated 200 copies across the colonies, where they were posted on buildings and read from state houses. Only 26 copies are known to survive, and one is at the National Archives.

Above John Dunlap’s name on the broadside is that of another Irishman, Charles Thomson. As the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Thomson recorded the discussions and decisions of each meeting. His name appears on the Dunlap Broadside as a witness, as well as throughout the congressional journals he maintained.

The official engrossed (handwritten) copy of the Declaration of Independence is housed in the Rotunda at the National Archives. On July 19, 1776, a clerk named Timothy Matlack transcribed it onto parchment with ink and quill. He penned the Declaration with an elegant English roundhand script, but his typical handwriting can be seen on this letter.

The Declaration’s signers kept their identities secret for months to protect them from British retaliation. Their names appeared for the first time in January 1777 on the second official printing. Listed below them is the printer, Mary Katharine Goddard of Baltimore. She is the only woman whose name appears on the Declaration of Independence, as seen here.   

When the Continental Congress briefly resided in Baltimore, the responsibility of printing the Declaration of Independence fell to Mary Katharine Goddard as the city’s postmaster. Her name appears at the bottom of this list. A strong supporter of independence, Goddard regularly wrote and published about the revolution, reporting on battles and advocating for boycotts.