When the Declaration of Independence was news / Emily Sneff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sneff, Emily, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Declaration of Independence.

United States.

Social epistemology--United States--History--18th century.

Social epistemology.

Social epistemology--Europe--History--18th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 258 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2026]

Summary:

"There was a time when the Declaration of Independence was news. The traditional story of the Declaration focuses on the delegates in the Continental Congress, particularly the men tasked with drafting the text. But many people were involved in the process of spreading the news. This exploration of the Declaration in 1776 reveals how the text was communicated to people in the United States and around the Atlantic. This history begins with a resolution issued by the Continental Congress on May 15, 1776, the first text that was perceived to be a declaration of independence. That same day, the Virginia Convention passed a resolution that eventually led to the Declaration of Independence. The news of independence coincided with the arrival in New York of a British fleet led by the King's Commissioners for Restoring Peace, a smallpox outbreak in Boston, a treaty conference with the Maliseet and Mi'kmaq nations, and other unique circumstances. The Declaration travelled to Europe through London, where printers censored, excerpted, and changed the text, and printed it alongside misinformation about the United States. Congress hoped that the Declaration would foster a new national identity and encourage European powers to form alliances with the new nation. But, by the time Congress's secret agent in France finally received a copy of the Declaration from Congress, independence was old news. The questions of who experienced the news of independence, when, and how reveal an expansive and complex history of a critical moment in the American Revolution"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : the news of independence

Short of independence : the May 15 Resolution

Postponed : the Continental Congress debates independence

Publish and declare : the people learn the news

Melted majesty : statues fall and tensions rise in New York

The reigning subject : inoculation and independence in Massachusetts

Words and wampum : Native Americans acknowledge independence

Embarrassment : clergymen close churches and change prayers

Intercepted : broadsides in British hands

Pretended acts : London changes the Declaration

An old storey : Silas Deane waits for the Declaration

Conclusion : a lasting testimony

Appendix: Transcription of the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed June 9, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Sneff, Emily. When the Declaration of Independence was news.

ISBN:

9780197816714

0197816711

9780197816707

0197816703

OCLC:

1583708152

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license