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Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today

June 12 - September 6, 2021
  • June 12 - September 6, 2021
  • Museum of the American Revolution


  • 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 summer 2021 exhibition, Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today, showcased 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 had never been exhibited before — traced 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 served as a visual narrative of America's national story. The flags were 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 encouraged 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 was on loan from Jeff R. Bridgman, a leading dealer of antique flags and political textiles. The documents were 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

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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 examined replica Revolutionary flags and investigated how they were made and who made them.
  • A discovery cart where visitors could 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 could express what’s meaningful to them by making their own flag and use movable magnetics to write their own constitution.
Image 031622 16x9 Flags Founding Documents Lockup
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

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