Emily Sneff
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emilysneff.bsky.social
Emily Sneff
@emilysneff.bsky.social
Historian of the Declaration of Independence
Curator of Digital Content @declarationstories.bsky.social
If a certain new book about the Declaration of Independence is 80 pages and $20, then my book is a STEAL at almost 200 pages longer and $29, right? 🤔
November 21, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Authors! I am genuinely excited to create the index for my book but I am also a) very busy and b) getting over a nasty cold. Send me your indexing tips that don't involve getting someone else to do it or relying on AI!
November 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
In the OUP Spring–Summer 2026 catalogue:

When the Declaration of Independence Was News! 😍
October 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Fit check for Revolutionary Germantown x Red October
October 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Coming April 15, 2026!

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.

Pre-order information (and discount code!) will be available in the new year.
September 26, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Looking for a pocket Declaration of Independence? More than likely, it includes the Constitution.

It's SUPER important to read the Constitution, but for the 250th, it's also important to have handheld copies of the Declaration on its own, in its own context.

@declarationstories.bsky.social
August 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
A bit of good news on a Friday:

My book exists on the OUP website 🙌

When the Declaration of Independence Was News, coming April 15, 2026!

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
August 1, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Always good to see @kawulf.bsky.social in action! Talking Lineage and how genealogy really did actually exist in colonial British America
July 24, 2025 at 12:54 AM
This makes me so happy 😊

Me and @kawulf.bsky.social, back-to-back on @bfworld.bsky.social!
July 15, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Book tour loading . . .

Get in touch if you want to schedule an event or see an event happen in your area! emilysneff.com
July 7, 2025 at 9:51 PM
This wall at the Independence Visitor Center used to be filled with books and now it is... not

No offense to the 50th anniversary of Rocky, but as someone who has been working on a book carefully timed for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, this is not a great look for my city.
June 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Case studies in social media, ratios, and why the history of the American Revolution is difficult to navigate at this anniversary moment:

MoAR gets slammed for offering lesser known histories during Pride

America250 gets slammed for promoting the Grand Military Parade on the US Army anniversary
June 5, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Book manuscript is done and headed to copy editing 🙌

I am looking forward to working with Oxford University Press on the next stages of preparation and production for When the Declaration of Independence Was News, coming spring 2026!

In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorite footnotes 😊
June 2, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Spending my birthday with a cup of coffee (okay, several) and book edits (fewer than I was expecting!)

No present like the gift of sending things off to be copy edited, right?
May 20, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The Speaker at the Speaker's House!

It was such a joy to meet Rep. Joanna McClinton, the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and see her explore the restoration-in-progress of the home of the guy who had her job 245 years ago. The Speaker's House will open to the public next year!
April 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
BRB, getting a Matt Strahm powder blue jersey
April 17, 2025 at 1:42 AM
A little bit of *fun* Declaration news, for once.

The Phillies pitcher who looks like Nicolas Cage has a new Declaration of Independence glove
April 17, 2025 at 1:40 AM
At face value, the new-look NEH Public Scholars grant seems designed for me, as a public scholar of the Declaration of Independence. But the description is... troubling.

And, not for nothing, a grant that kicks in on June 1, 2026 isn't actually supporting scholarship for July 4, 2026.
April 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
After hearing from National Parks Service employees who could not register for the @declarationstories.bsky.social virtual workshops on the Declaration of Independence because of budget freezes and uncertainties, I've made registration free for all NPS workers.

www.declarationstories.org/workshops
March 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Had so. much. fun. recording an episode of Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant (@rrchnm.bsky.social) about one of my favorite letters from the summer of 1776. Coming soon!
March 20, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Not only did the Scrabble computer play REDCOATS against me--on Evacuation Day, of all days--it also got the 50 point bonus 🥲
March 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
"Our Nation’s historic governing documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, have all been written in English."

Except both were immediately translated into German because people needed those governing documents in the language they knew.
March 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
It took almost five years, but the test strip lit up REAL fast this morning.

I feel justified in every decision I have taken since 2020 to mask and protect myself because, in the year 2025, COVID has knocked me flat on my back. Not even the Eagles Super Bowl parade speeches can revive me.
February 14, 2025 at 11:07 PM
As ever, Go Birds
February 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Fun (actually not fun) fact:

Thomas Jefferson was the acting archivist of the United States when he was Secretary of State, too.

The history of the parchment Declaration of Independence before the transfer to Library of Congress and then NARA proves the different expertises needed for these jobs.
February 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM