The Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) kicks off its next monthly meeting on Wednesday July 12 at 7 pm with a talk by Ph.D. candidate Emily Sneff, “1776: The Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and Around the World.” Come early for dinner and drinks! The meeting will be held in person at Philly’s Gourmet Steaks, 114 Market Street, and also offered on Zoom.

The Declaration of Independence was first celebrated in Philadelphia, printed in local newspapers beginning on July 6, 1776, and proclaimed from the Pennsylvania State House yard on July 8. We will explore what life was like in the city at that moment, what was happening in local politics, and why these earliest printings and public readings of the Declaration matter. Then, we will trace how far the Declaration of Independence travelled from Philadelphia in the weeks and months following July 4. The journeys of these copies of the Declaration reveal unexpected and complicated stories from the founding of the United States.

Emily Sneff is a Ph.D. candidate at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. This past year, she was the Cincinnati Barra Dissertation Fellow at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at Penn. Her dissertation, When the Declaration of Independence was News, examines the dissemination of the Declaration of Independence around the Atlantic world in 1776. Before graduate school, Emily was the Research Manager of the Declaration Resources Project at Harvard University. Emily received her B.A. in History from Johns Hopkins University and her M.A. in History from William & Mary.

Following the presentation will be a short business meeting and some social time.

APT meetings are open to aspiring and working tour guides as well as anyone with an interest in Philadelphia-focused history. Attend one meeting for free and then it is $50 to join the association for the year or $10 per monthly meeting in-person event. Zoom meetings are free. Please join us for convivial company, good food, fascinating presentations, and lively discussions.

The meeting will also be livestreamed on Zoom. The link will be shared in the APT President’s email the week of the meeting. Please join us!