Showcasing the Complex History and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, the Museum Announces Initial Artifact Loans for “The Declaration’s Journey”

Special Exhibition Celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial Will Juxtapose Significant Legacy Objects of Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. 

Additional Announcements Include Major Grant Support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the Connelly Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities 

The Museum of the American Revolution today announces the first details of its loan acquisitions for The Declaration’s Journey, a special exhibition running from Oct. 18, 2025 through Jan. 3, 2027 which has been deemed one of the key public events happening in Philadelphia for America’s Semiquincentennial.  

Since the summer of 1776, the words of the Declaration of Independence have inspired hundreds of political revolutions and civil rights movements, making it one of the most influential documents in modern history. The Declaration’s Journey will examine how national and international leaders like Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Vicente Guerrero, the Marquis de Lafayette, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Philip Jaisohn, Tomas Masaryk, and Harvey Milk have deployed the Declaration’s words for movements ranging from women’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery to racial equality and civil rights, and how those movements have shaped modern discussions about the Declaration's meaning. 

The exhibition will open with a juxtaposition of two objects which each witnessed a watershed moment in the Declaration's journey. They also represent some of the most significant challenges in its ongoing story.  

The Museum will display Thomas Jefferson's Windsor chair, which he is believed to have used while in Philadelphia working on the draft of the Declaration alongside four other members of the Continental Congress. It will be on loan from the American Philosophical Society (APS) through March 2026, and then replaced by another chair owned by Jefferson for the remainder of the exhibition. Jefferson himself was elected to membership at the APS, which is now the nation's oldest learned society and operates an archive and public museum in Old City Philadelphia. 

Alongside it, the Museum will display the hard metal prison bench King sat on in April 1963 while drafting his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” in which he defends his civil disobedience in protest of segregation. This response letter to his imprisonment by Alabama authorities points to Jefferson and the words of the Declaration directly. The bench from Birmingham Jail will be loaned to the Museum by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute for the full run of the exhibition.  

King's connections to Jefferson through the Declaration of Independence have been explored by historians and contemporary artists over the past few decades. This powerful pairing of the chair and the bench as the opening scene planned for The Declaration's Journey joins that conversation. 

“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 of 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.” 

With these initial object details, the Museum also announces new funding updates for The Declaration’s Journey. Most notably, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage awarded the Museum its first creative project grant from the organization, totaling $300,000 in project funding and general operating support. The Declaration’s Journey was also awarded $200,000 from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, a $100,000 implementation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) following previous planning support for the exhibition in 2023, and generous lead support from Philip Syng Reese and Family & The Society of Lees of Virginia. A complete list of exhibition funders is here. 

“We appreciate the ongoing support for The Declaration’s Journey, which in less than a year will begin to engage visitors from around the country and the world in the inspiring, though often contested promise of the Declaration of Independence,” said Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, Museum President and CEO. “With this special exhibition, we aim to inspire new generations to embrace their own role in its ongoing story.” 

About The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage 

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a multidisciplinary grantmaker and hub for knowledge-sharing, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, dedicated to fostering a vibrant cultural community in Greater Philadelphia. The Center invests in ambitious, imaginative, and catalytic work that showcases the region’s cultural vitality and enhances public life, and engages in an exchange of ideas concerning artistic and interpretive practice with a broad network of cultural practitioners and leaders. 

About the National Endowment for the Humanities 

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at neh.gov. 

About Museum of the American Revolution 

The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. Through the Museum’s unmatched collection, immersive galleries, powerful theater experiences, and interactive elements, visitors gain a deeper appreciation for how this nation came to be and feel inspired to consider their role in ensuring that the promise of the American Revolution endures. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum, which opened on April 19, 2017, is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. For more information, visit www.AmRevMuseum.org or call 877.740.1776.