Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today

Now open through Sept. 6, 2021

Now open through Sept. 6, 2021
Museum of the American Revolution
Book Tickets Member Tickets

Included with regular Museum admission.

Explore the Founding Documents Online
The founding documents portion of the exhibit is available to view online in the virtual exhibit, Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions.

Explore Online

Purchase the Colonists, Citizens, Constitution Book
Dive deeper into the founding documents on display with the accompanying exhibition catalog, featuring a foreword written by late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Purchase Online

The Museum's new summer exhibition, Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today, showcases dozens of rare American flags alongside historic early state constitutions and the first printing of the proposed U.S. Constitution of 1787.

The flags — many of which have never been exhibited before — trace the evolution of the Stars and Stripes through the addition and subtraction of stars as new states joined the Union and the nation battled through the Civil War. The flags serve as a visual narrative of America's national story. The flags are showcased alongside historic documents including early printings of more than 16 different state constitutions and the Choctaw Nation Constitution of 1838 to shed light on the triumphs and tensions that the United States faced as it expanded and worked toward creating a “more perfect Union.”

I am thrilled to [...] share this visually dynamic and historically significant collection of flags that illustrates the advance from 13 stars to 50.

Jeff Bridgman, American Antiques

By telling stories from the nation’s revolutionary roots to its continuing struggle over equal rights, Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today encourages visitors to consider their role in the ongoing effort to fulfill the promise of the American Revolution.

It is my deepest wish that this exhibition will inspire all of us to have an impact on our future by participating in the governance of the United States.

Dorothy Tapper Goldman, a collector and philanthropist

The collection of historic flags is on loan from Jeff R. Bridgman, a leading dealer of antique flags and political textiles. The documents are on loan from the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation following their exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, titled Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions: Creating the American Republic, curated by Dr. James F. Hrdlicka.

Key Artifacts

1/7

A large (nearly 9 feet wide) anti-slavery flag ca. 1861 featuring 13 black and white stripes and 23 stars, which excluded the Confederate states from its star count. The flag reads “No Union With Slavery.” Jeff R. Bridgman, American Antiques

2/7

An anti-Vietnam War version of the American national flag bearing 50 stars arranged in a peace symbol with a flattened bottom, almost in the shape of a mushroom cap. Jeff R. Bridgman, American Antiques

3/7

A 13-star flag, circa 1800-1825, featuring a “Great Star” pattern — a star made out of stars — one of the earliest American flags known to survive. Jeff R. Bridgman, American Antiques

4/7

A 1781 printed compilation of the 13 state constitutions of the new United States, which includes handwritten annotations that analyze how each constitution affected Jewish Americans at the time. On loan from The Rosenbach

5/7

A printing of the Constitution of the Proposed State of Wyoming, which granted women the right to vote in 1889, three decades before the 19th Amendment. Courtesy of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation. Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama.

6/7

A rare, original first printing of the proposed U.S. Constitution of 1787. Courtesy of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation. Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama.

7/7

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, printed by John Dunlap in 1776. Courtesy of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation. Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama.

Family-Friendly Activities

A printed Family Guide full of games and activities.
Pop-up talks with a Museum educator that examine replica Revolutionary flags and investigate how they were made and who made them.
A discovery cart where visitors can learn the story of Rebecca Flower Young, who worked as a military contractor in Philadelphia making flags and drum cases for the Continental Army.
Activity stations where visitors can express what’s meaningful to them by making their own flag and use movable magnetics to write their own constitution.

Exhibit Sponsor Lockup Flags Founding Documents

America 250’s official recognition of Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today acknowledges the program as an expression of the America 250 vision to inspire the American spirit.

Explore the founding documents portion of the exhibit in the virtual exhibit, Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions, as it was exhibited at New-York Historical Society.

Explore Online

Learn More

Image 061521 Exhibit Flags Founding Documents Htb 3087

A Revolutionary Summer

Throughout A Revolutionary Summer, the Museum's special events and exhibits offer visitors of all ages the opportunity to explore the American Revolution and its ongoing relevance.

Image 070219 Indendence Day Naturalization Ceremony 103 1dx29269

Jun 10

Holiday Weekend Special Exhibition

Flag Day Weekend: Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today Exhibit Opening

June 10-14, 2021

Join the Museum over Flag Day weekend to explore the evolution of the American flag with the opening of our Flags and Founding Documents exhibit, True Colours Flag Project debut, and more.

Go to Event

True Colours Flag Project

Follow the process of recreating and the history behind the flags flown by 18th-century ships at sea during the Revolutionary War with the Museum's True Colours Flag Project.