Documenting America's Founding Online
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Declaration of Independence. Draft in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1776. NYPL, Manuscripts and Archives Division, Thomas Addis Emmet Collection. Digital ID psnypl_mss_1228.
The Thomas Addis Emmet Collection, one of NYPL's most important collections, is now available online in its entirety - thanks to a generous gift from The Polonsky Foundation. The collection contains nearly 10,000 handwritten letters and documents from America's Founding, including a copy of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's hand. For more than 100 years, researchers have visited the Library to mine this collection for insight into our country's birth and early years. Now, this unparalleled resource is freely available to scholars, educators, students, and interested citizens anytime from anywhere.
Explore the Emmet Collection online
Learn more about the Manuscripts and Archives division