Goddard Broadside of the Declaration of Independence
Episode 4 | 58sVideo has Closed Captions
Explore the work of printer and publisher Mary Katharine Goddard.
Join Meredith Mann of the New York Public Library as she explores the Goddard Broadside, the first copy of the Declaration of Independence printed by a woman. This copy, printed in January 1777 is now a part of the NYPL’s Polonsky Exhibition.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
NYPL Treasures is a local public television program presented by WLIW PBS
Goddard Broadside of the Declaration of Independence
Episode 4 | 58sVideo has Closed Captions
Join Meredith Mann of the New York Public Library as she explores the Goddard Broadside, the first copy of the Declaration of Independence printed by a woman. This copy, printed in January 1777 is now a part of the NYPL’s Polonsky Exhibition.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch NYPL Treasures
NYPL Treasures is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMeredith: This broadside is known as the Goddard Broadside because it was printed by Mary Katharine Goddard in January of 1777, and it displays the full text of the Declaration of Independence.
This object is the first copy of the Declaration of Independence to be printed by a woman, and it's also the first authenticated copy.
It was the way in which most Americans found out who had signed the Declaration.
Mary Katharine Goddard was sort of a renaissance woman because she was a printer who was responsible for "The Maryland Journal," while also serving as the postmistress of Baltimore and as a businesswoman who ran her own print shop, a book bindery, a bookstore, and a post office.
So, at the bottom of the document, you can see the attribution, "Printed by Mary Katharine Goddard," and unlike her newspaper, she used her full name instead of just M.K.
Goddard to make it very clear, I think, that it was a woman who printed this document and invited the same risks to her life and property as those faced by members of Congress.
- Culture
Trace Adkins joins the US Army Field Band in "Salute to Service 2025: A Veterans Day Celebration."
Support for PBS provided by:
NYPL Treasures is a local public television program presented by WLIW PBS