Settlers at the time received word in copies of the historic declaration read from the steps of their town squares.
This week, one of the 25 surviving original copies of the Declaration of Independence will be on display in Salt Lake City, part of a traveling exhibit aimed at encouraging young people to make their own political statement and vote in the upcoming elections.
"It's a great document in American history," said Selby Kiffer, an expert on American historical documents at Sotheby's auction house in New York.
After the Continental Congress ratified the declaration on July 4, 1776, the text was sent to printer John Dunlap, who printed between 500 and 1,000 copies, which were sent all across the colonies to be read from town squares or in other public settings.
"It was essentially the news bulletin of the day. It was how people learned we had declared our independence," he said.
Copies were sent to Gen. George Washington, who had it read to his militia. Two were sent to King George III. It wasn't until a month later that members of the Congress began signing the version of the declaration written in calligraphy on parchment which is in the National Archives and it took more than two years for all the signatures to be gathered.
Of the 25 remaining copies, the version on display this week is among the best in terms of its condition.
"Except for being folded, which you would expect of a large document like this . . . [it] is exactly as you would expect it to look as it came off Dunlap's press," Kiffer said.
It also has a fascinating story of how it was discovered.
A Philadelphia man bought a frame at a flea market for $4 and found the copy tucked in behind the framed picture. He thought it was a souvenir version printed for the centennial of the signing, but eventually its authenticity was confirmed.
He sold it for $2.4 million in 1991, and it was put up for auction again in 2000, when it was sold for $8.4 million to Norman Lear, producer of television shows like "All In The Family."
Lear took the document on the road, exhibiting the Declaration of Independence in dozens of cities, including stopping in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The tour later turned into a voter registration drive, using the document and celebrity advocates to get 18- to 29-year-olds excited about the political process and registered to vote. In 2004 and 2006, the campaign registered a 1.2 million people.
This year, with financial backing of Cricket Communications Inc., the tour is hitting 17 cities, and has already registered about 500,000 potential voters. After leaving Salt Lake, it will go to Denver, where it will be on display during the Democratic National Convention.
"We certainly saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community, to provide awareness about our rights and freedoms in America with the youth being so important this year to deciding their future," said John Willardson, Cricket's area general manager.
