Philadelphia, July 5, 1776.
GENTLEMEN: I do myself the honour to enclose, in obedience to the commands of Congress, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, which I am directed to request you will have proclaimed in your Colony in the way and manner which you shall judge best.
The American States being now forever divided from those who wished to destroy them, it has become absolutely necessary, for their security and happiness, to adopt some Government of their own. In this view of the matter, the important consequences flowing from a Declaration of Independence, considered as the ground and foundation thereof, will naturally suggest the propriety of proclaiming it in such a mode that the people may be universally informed of it.
I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient and very humble servant,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.
Honourable Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania