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July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. Almost immediately after being adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the document was translated into German. Join Dr. Emily Sneff to learn about the first German-language broadsides and newspaper printings of the Declaration, the importance of German printers in Philadelphia, and the different approaches to translation taken in the United States and in Europe.
Dr. Emily Sneff is a scholar of early American history and a leading expert on the Declaration of Independence. She is the consulting curator for exhibitions planned for the country’s Semiquincentennial including The Declaration’s Journey at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Window to Revolution: Pennsylvania Germans and the War for Independence at Historic Trappe, Pennsylvania. Her book When the Declaration of Independence Was News will be published in April 2026 with Oxford University Press.
This is the first of two virtual presentations by Dr. Sneff. The second will be held on February 12, 2026. It will highlight German American individuals who were integral to the process of declaring independence from Great Britain. Stay tuned for registration information for the February event.
This lecture is sponsored by the Max Kade Institute for German American Studies with co-sponsorship by the Friends of the Max Kade Institute, the German Society of Pennsylvania, and the German Historical Institute–Washington, DC.