Today, the Declaration of Independence stands at the center of America’s founding moment and as a tribute to a new nation’s idealism. In 1776, the language was treated like any other document, edited in ways that caused author Thomas Jefferson angst over its “mutilations.” This year, a special project at Penn’s Common Press this year brought the Declaration to life through a public, interactive papermaking and printing exercise that will continue through this fall, and Penn experts on the Declaration reflect on its words and meaning.
A typesetting workshop at Penn’s Common Press invited participants to reinterpret lines from the Declaration of Independence as part of the Typography of Independence project and Penn’s America 250 programming.
Kelly He lifts the mould and deckle to drain water from the paper pulp.
Learn the five steps to making paper as it was done in the Revolutionary era, part of a Common Press semiquincentennial project, alongside a class from the Weitzman School of Design.
From papermaking to typesetting, Penn’s Common Press has been working to print the Declaration of Independence using the same methods as in 1776. Members of the public can sign up through December to print their own copies.
Penn Today spoke with historian Daniel Richter, philosopher Jennifer Morton, and constitutional scholar Claire Finkelstein about the Declaration’s historical context, political ideas, and evolving legacy.
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A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
