America 250 and the declaration of independence
As the first and only U.S. museum dedicated to the history and impact of American writers, the American Writers Museum engages with themes of independence and equality throughout our programs and exhibits, spanning more than 400 years of American writing.
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, these resources explore its themes through the perspectives of American writers across genres and generations, highlighting voices from the AWM’s exhibits and beyond.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Declarations:
250 Years of Writing Toward Independence
June 18 – September 7
This special pop-up exhibit includes an 1823 William Stone print of the Declaration of Independence on display, along with a 1776 British first edition of Common Sense by Thomas Paine advocating for the independence of the U.S. colonies.
The exhibit will also invite visitors to reflect on works by writers throughout American history that reference the Declaration, including Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harvey Milk and Martin Luther King Jr.
Interactive elements will include a Declaration of Independence erasure poetry section, allowing visitors to edit the founding document into their own words.
America 250 programming will also take place at the AWM’s 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-presented with Chicago Public Library, this biannual one-day event is completely free and open to the public. Join us on Sunday, June 7 at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago to hear more stories about the founding of the nation.
LEARN MORE HERE
In the meantime, watch this vital conversation from the 2024 American Writers Festival with journalist Mark Bowden about writers and politics today. Bowden sits down with Natalie Y. Moore to discuss his book, co-written with Matthew Teague, The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It.
View more programs on the 2024 American Writers Festival playlist on our YouTube channel!
Currently on display in person at the American Writers Museum, American Prophets is a powerful exhibit that takes you on the ultimate exploration through spirituality and storytelling. Travel through vibrant spaces that trace the many paths of American faith, from pre-European Indigenous rituals to the religiosity of the Founding Fathers and much more. This isn’t just an exhibit—it’s a shared journey of reflection, inspiration, and connection through the stories that move us all.
Delve into more than 400 years of American writing, from Indigenous storytelling traditions to the explosion of new American voices in the 20th century and beyond. Organized by chronological eras of literary innovation, the exhibit highlights select authors who each played a role in creating the unique character of American writing. Founding-era figures and former presidents appear alongside writers like Frederick Douglass and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who challenged and expanded the nation’s ideals with their powerful words.
In our exhibit My America, hear from more than 30 leading immigrant and refugee writers who talk about their experiences, carving community through writing, reimagining what “home” is, and more. Many signers of the Declaration were themselves immigrants to this land, or first or second generation immigrants. Featuring powerful, intimate stories from the likes of Viet Thanh Nguyen, Reyna Grande, Edwidge Danticat, and more, learn how immigrants and refugees have shaped the fabric of the nation.
Learn more about writers whose work aligns with the ideas set forth in the Declaration of Independence with these past episodes of the Nation of Writers podcast.
- Abraham Lincoln: Dive into the life and legacy of the nation’s 16th President, with a specific focus on his speechwriting. Hear from Carolyn Curiel, former U.S. Ambassador and Senior Speechwriter for Bill Clinton; and Dr. Christian McWhirter, Lincoln Historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
- Hannah Arendt: One of the most renowned political thinkers of the 20th century, her work remains all-too relevant today. Born in Germany, Arendt came to the U.S. as a refugee and used writing to reckon with the rise of the Third Reich. After World War II, Arendt became one of the most prominent—and controversial—public intellectuals of her time.
- William Apess: In his writing, indigenous author and orator William Apess reclaims his Pequot identity after being taken away from his family and forced to work as a servant. In Christianity, Apess found an argument for social justice that fueled his fight for Native American rights. Famously, he courted controversy in a speech that hailed both George Washington and Wampanoag Chief King Philip as fathers of the nation.
- Norman Lear: The creative force behind some of the most groundbreaking shows, Lear transformed American television in his 75+ year career. He was also a staunch activist, co-founding the People for the American Way and purchasing an original copy of the Declaration to tour around the States and encourage voter enrollment.
Stream all episodes of Nation of Writers here.
Upcoming Political Writing Events
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Blogs about writers whose work furthers the ideals of freedom and the ongoing American democratic experiment.
Check out some brief bios of significant intellectuals and thinkers of the past, adapted from our exhibit American Voices.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather, each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this.“
W. E. B. Du Bois
“One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.“
Richard Wright
“They hate because they fear, and they fear because they feel the deepest feelings in their lives are being assaulted and outraged. And they do not know why; they are powerless pawns in the blind play of social forces.“
James Baldwin
“The American Negro has the great advantage of having never believed the collection of myths to which white Americans cling: that their ancestors were all freedom-loving heroes, that they were born in the greatest country the world has ever seen…“
