PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Museum of the American Revolution has revealed initial details of “The Declaration’s Journey,” a special exhibition set to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Opening on October 18, 2025, and running through January 3, 2027, the exhibition will explore the complex history and enduring impact of the Declaration, including its influence on global movements for freedom and equality.
Promising to be one of Philadelphia’s hallmark events during the Semiquincentennial celebrations, the exhibition will feature significant loans, including Thomas Jefferson’s Windsor chair and the prison bench used by Martin Luther King Jr. while drafting his iconic “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Jefferson’s chair, believed to have been used during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, will be on loan from the American Philosophical Society through March 2026 before being replaced by another chair also owned by Jefferson. Meanwhile, King’s bench, on loan from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, spotlights the continuing relevance of the Declaration to civil rights struggles.
“The Museum looks forward to presenting thought-provoking and little-known aspects of the Declaration’s history and legacy through this powerful, object-rich exhibition planned for the 250th anniversary of our nation,” said Matthew Skic, Senior Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution. “We will reach far outside the purview of our usual focus on the Revolutionary era and provide an experience for visitors that truly contextualizes, celebrates, and challenges what this anniversary means to Americans today.”
Beyond the juxtaposition of these seminal artifacts, the exhibition will trace how leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass invoked the Declaration’s principles to galvanize social and political movements worldwide. From women’s suffrage to abolition, the exhibition examines how these calls for action helped shape the modern interpretation of equality and liberty.
The exhibition has received substantial support, including grants from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the Connelly Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Located in the historic heart of Philadelphia, the Museum of the American Revolution invites visitors to engage with “The Declaration’s Journey” and its exploration of the ideals that continue to define the American experience.
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