Speaker Series: When the Declaration Was News

Publishing for the 250th anniversary of the United States, When the Declaration of Independence Was News focuses on the nation’s founding document at the moment of its creation in 1776, before anyone knew what the legacy of the Declaration would be or if the United States would win the war against Great Britain. It explores how the Declaration was communicated to people in the new nation and around the Atlantic world and reveals the stories of the many people involved in the process of declaring independence, from printers to soldiers to diplomats to translators.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Emily Sneff is an early American historian and leading expert on the Declaration of Independence. A graduate of John Hopkins University and the University of William and Mary, her interest in the Declaration of Independence began at the American Philosophical Society, where she was a member of the museum’s curatorial team for a series of exhibitions on Thomas Jefferson. Her career also led her to Harvard University where she was the Research Manager of the Declaration Resources Project.

She is currently a consulting curator for exhibitions planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration at the Museum of the American Revolution and the American Philosophical Society. Her recently published book, When the Declaration Was News, traces the dissemination of the Declaration of Independence through the United States and around the Atlantic in the summer and fall of 1776. You can learn more about Dr. Sneff’s work on her website, emilysneff.com.