Ben Franklin's World

Episode 415: Emily Sneff, The Many Declarations of Independence

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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
    • Emily Sneff
    • Declaration Resources Project
    • Museum of the American Revolution
    • American Philosophical Society
    • Historica Trappe
    • United States National Archives, Declaration of Independence
    • John Dunlap Broadside, Declaration of Independence 
    • Mary Katherine Goddard, Declaration of Independence
    • John Carter Brown Library
    • Peter Timothy, Declaration of Independence
    • Eliga Gould, Among the Powers of the Earth
    • Pauline Maier, American Scripture
    • Lemuel Haynes, Liberty Further Extended 
    • Robert G. Parkinson, Thirteen Clocks
    • Philip Syng Ink Stand 
    • William Stone Engraving of the Declaration
    • Transcript

      •  

      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?  

       

      Complementary Episodes

      Episode 018: Our Declaration

      Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
      Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth
      Episode 277: Whose Fourth of July?
      Episode 388: John Hancock
      Episode 394: The Pursuit of Happiness

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      Ben Franklin’s World is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. To advertise on Ben Franklin's World contact [email protected].

      The post Episode 415: Emily Sneff, The Many Declarations of Independence appeared first on Ben Franklin's World.

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