Declarations: 250 Years of Writing Toward Independence on display now through September 7, 2026
Exhibit features an 1823 print of the Declaration alongside works by Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harvey Milk, The International Indian Treaty Council, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Festive happy hour event, Get Lit: The Great American Heist, on July 8 from 5-7:30 p.m. includes a reading of the Declaration as part of Sharing the Spirit of America national program
Chicago, Illinois (June 23, 2026)—As the first and only U.S. museum dedicated to the history and impact of American writers, the American Writers Museum (AWM) engages with themes of independence and freedom throughout its permanent exhibits, spanning more than 400 years of American writing. This summer, AWM presents a special exhibit and Get Lit happy hour event celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence as an official partner of America250 and Illinois America 250.
New pop-up exhibit, Declarations: 250 Years of Writing Toward Independence, is open at AWM now through Monday, September 7 (Labor Day). Visitors can explore an 1823 William Stone print of the Declaration of Independence, as commissioned by then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, as well as colonial-era legal documents signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Philip Livingston, and Roger Sherman. At an interactive erasure poetry station, guests can edit the founding document into their own words, inspired by an erasure poem from Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith.
The Declarations exhibit also offers visitors the opportunity to read and reflect on works by writers throughout American history that reference the themes and promise of the Declaration, including:
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s (1815-1902) Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
- Frederick Douglass’s (1818-1895) What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852)
- Abraham Lincoln’s (1809-1865) The Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s (1929-1968) I Have A Dream speech (1963)
- The International Indian Treaty Council’s (1974-present) Declaration of Continuing Independence (1974)
- Harvey Milk’s (1930-1978) Gay Freedom Day speech (1978)
“The United States was a country founded on the written word. How those words spread—how they impacted history and the world—is the essence of what the American Writers Museum is about: the power of writers to shape the world, to influence our history, our culture, and our daily lives. We are excited to explore those ideas this year and every year,” says AWM President Carey Cranston.
Declarations is made possible by a generous contribution from Mayer Brown.
Admission to Declarations: 250 Years of Writing Toward Independence is included with admission to the American Writers Museum (180 N. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor). Tickets are $16 in person and $14 if purchased in advance online, with discounts available for seniors, students, and teachers. AWM is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit americanwritersmuseum.org/america250.
Festive America250 Get Lit happy hour event
AWM will also present a special after-hours event, Get Lit: The Great American Heist at the Museum on Wednesday, July 8 from 5-7:30 p.m. Part of AWM’s ongoing Get Lit happy hour series, the festive event invites visitors 21+ to join their fellow “investigators” to find a special artifact that has been stolen from the pop-up Declarations exhibit, while enjoying beer, wine, and the night’s specialty cocktail, The Amendment (non-alcoholic options also available). Costumes are encouraged!
Get Lit will kick off promptly at 5 p.m. on July 8 with a reading of the Declaration of Independence as part of the nationwide program Sharing the Spirit of America: A Statewide & National Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with people in communities across America taking part.
Tickets to Get Lit are $18 without drinks and $25 with two drink tickets valid for alcoholic or non- alcoholic beverages. All tickets include admission to AWM exhibits, including the Declarations pop-up exhibit. This event is 21+ and all guests must show ID at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit americanwritersmuseum.org/get-lit-1776.
Nation of Writers gallery explores 400 years of American writing
In AWM’s permanent Nation of Writers gallery, founding-era figures and former presidents appear alongside writers including Frederick Douglass, women’s suffrage advocates, and Native Americans who challenged and expanded the nation’s ideals with their powerful words.
A sampling of AWM’s expansive American Voices permanent exhibit and additional educational materials are available online at NationofWriters.org. The website enables visitors worldwide to travel through the literary history of the United States, from Native American storytelling traditions through the explosion of new American voices in the 20th Century. Organized by chronological eras of literary innovation spanning more than 400 years, the exhibit highlights select authors who each played a role in creating the unique character of American writing.
Press kit and images available HERE>>
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The American Writers Museum (AWM) is the first museum of its kind in the United States. The mission of AWM is to excite audiences about the impact of American writers—past, present and future—in shaping our collective histories, cultures, identities, and daily lives. The museum is located at 180 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL 60601, and offers something for every age group including permanent exhibits and special galleries highlighting America’s favorite works and the authors behind them. Tickets to the museum are $16 for adults, $10 for seniors, students, and teachers. Free for members and children ages 12 and under. To inquire about discounted rates for groups of 10 or more, including adults, student travel groups, and University students, visit AmericanWritersMuseum.org/visit/groups or call 312-374-8765. Museum hours are Monday, Thursday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information visit AmericanWritersMuseum.org or call 312-374-8790. Follow AWM on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.