Researchers find unique US Declaration of Independence copy

The copy, similar to the one viewed by millions each year at the National Archives in Washington has been locked away in a local records office in southeast England forgotten by historians.

Sneff's sleuthing, together with that of Harvard professor Danielle Allen, led to a discovery that could shed new light on the founding document of the United States.

The experts have dated what is now being called the "Sussex Declaration" to the 1780s — a time of political tumult before the Constitutional Convention, when the new nation was struggling to survive as a loose association of states governed by the Articles of Confederation.

Historians believe the Sussex Declaration was originally owned by the Third Duke of Richmond, known as the "Radical Duke" because of his support for the American Revolution.

The transcriber meticulously copied the declaration only to jumble the signatories as a political statement, giving weight to the people rather than the states, Allen said.