You never know what you’ll find if you look hard enough! That’s what two researchers from Harvard University realized when they discovered a document from our nation’s past that no one ever expected them to find, least of all tucked away in a file drawer at the West Sussex Records Office in Chichester, England.
Emily Sneff and Danielle Allen were shocked to come upon a second, genuine copy of the original American Declaration of Independence, written on parchment — not paper — just like our government’s copy that’s on public display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
This is only the second copy known in existence to be handwritten on parchment, making it incredibly valuable, not just to our nation, but also for researchers interested in the genesis of the document and the small differences between the copy that’s on display at the Archives and subsequent versions, which have been reprinted and reproduced thousands of times.
In fact, speculation is rife that this English copy (nicknamed the “Sussex Declaration”) is either the original source or a copy of the original source used for many such reproductions in 1818 and 1836. Why this copy was in England isn’t yet known, but it’s possible that it had been officially sent by American diplomats to British King George III.
However, the copy that Thomas Jefferson originally provided to Congress for its review of the document before signing either no longer exists or is, like this new copy, lying in a drawer or vault somewhere also waiting to see the light of day.
Watch as Fox’s Jenna Lee gets the scoop on this incredible discovery straight from the researchers themselves.
