The article discusses the reception of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts. The author presents an excerpt from a report on colonial commerce that suggested New England could never declare its independence from England due to a possible breakdown in trade. In a letter to former U.S. president John Adams, U.S. politician Samuel Adams discussed a motion of the U.S. Continental Congress to create a committee to explain to the public the decision to declare the colonies' independence from England. A motion by the Massachusetts House of Representatives to have towns in the Massachusetts colony select delegates to report each towns' views on independence is noted. The announcement and publication of the declaration in Massachusetts newspapers is noted.