Original post date July 2, 2011 It was written 235 years ago.
Between 200-300 copies were printed for towns up and down the
east coast, and a few made their way to Europe. Contrary to
popular belief, the original copy contained no signatures and
what it promoted was completely unique, new and…flawed. The
Declaration of Independence may very well be the world’s most
famous press release. That’s according the curator at
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where it was written and
approved in its final form (unsigned) on July 4th, 1776. The
signed copy we are familiar with was created later for
ceremonial purposes. I found it interesting to hear one of the
world’s most famous and important documents being referred to as
a press release during a class field trip with my son. The
curator used the analogy because he said that there is confusion
regarding the purpose of the Declaration: … the goal of the
document was to only articulate “What” and “Why,” not “How … ”
This history lesson is an important best practice f