Episode 415: Emily Sneff, The Many Declarations of Independence

Mary Katherine Goddard (1738–1816), printer Broadside of the Declaration of Independence Baltimore, in Maryland: Printed by Mary Katharine Goddard, 1777 Rare Book Division

When you picture the Declaration of Independence, what comes to mind?

Most people envision a single, iconic document–parchment, signatures, maybe even a scene from National Treasure. But what if I told you, the Declaration of Independence isn’t just one document, but many documents? And that each version of the Declaration tells a different story–a story not just about American independence, but about the people who printed, read, preserved, and even re-wrote the Declaration?

Emily Sneff is one of the leading experts on the Declaration of Independence. She has spent more than a decade researching the Declaration’s origins, and its different copies. She’s the former research manager of the Declaration Resources Project at Harvard, a consulting curator for Revolution 250 exhibits at the Museum of the American Revolution and the American Philosophical Society, and I’m proud to say, she’s is one of our former interns here at Ben Franklin’s World.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Episode Summary

Emily Sneff is a historian of early America and a leading expert on the Declaration of Independence. She’s a consulting curator for museum exhibitions planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration in 2026 at the Museum of the American Revolution, the American Philosophical Society, and Historic Trappe, which is in Pennsylvania. She’s also worked behind the scenes here at Ben Franklin’s World, first in helping us plan for Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft, and later as our very first Omohundro Institute intern.

During our exploration of the Declaration of Independence, Emily reveals why there isn’t one definitive copy of the Declaration of Independence and why it matters. How people in 1776 engaged with the Declaration, from public readings to personal annotations on copies of the document. And, how generations of Americans—from abolitionists to suffragists—have interpreted the Declaration’s promise of equality and liberty.

What You’ll Discover

How Emily became an expert on the Declaration of Independence
What we still need to know about the Declaration
The sparse records of the Continental Congress
The danger of drafting the Declaration of Independence
Copies of the Declaration of Independence
Official Declaration of Independence copies
The creation of the U.S. National Archives’ copy of the Declaration
Charleston celebrates the Declaration of Independence
Why we mark the Fourth of July, not the Second of July
A timeline of the Independence debate and vote
King George III and the Declaration of Independence
John Hancock’s signature on the Declaration
Britons’ responses to the Declaration of Independence
Translating the Declaration of Independence into foreign languages
The philosophical roots of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
Interpretations of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
Thomas Jefferson and the drafting of the Declaration
Congressional changes to Jefferson’s draft Declaration of Independence
The Declaration’s draft transatlantic slave trade grievance
Abigail Adams’ comments on the Declaration of Independence
The paper used for the Declaration of Independence
The cast of people involved in declaring independence

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Time Warp

In your opinion, what might have happened if Congress had declared independence earlier in 1776 or later in 1776? So what if independence had not been declared in July 1776?