US at 250: Civic Action in Chicago
On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we’re asking questions about our nation’s democracy in progress. Are all people equal in our city? What happens in Chicago when workers or people of color stand up for their rights? How do we honor the Indigenous stewards of the land we now call Chicago? What can we do to create “a more perfect union” today in Chicago and the United States?
Anchored in CHM’s collection materials relating to the United States’ founding and Chicago’s civic legacies, US at 250: Civic Action in Chicago invites visitors to engage with these questions and their own lived experiences through artistic interpretation, exhibitions, and educational programming, including lessons from historical clothing and stories of ongoing civic participation.
Visit us throughout the year to see:
- Art installations in the 1st floor lobby (rotating every 3 months)
- Artifacts displayed in our 1st floor alcove (rotating every 3 months)
- Let Freedom Read Dress in our 1st floor Mabie Gallery (April–June)
- Civic Season summer event series (June 19–July 4)
- Updates to Facing Freedom (reopening July 4)
- Thread of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing exhibition (opening October 24)
- Connecting themes in our exhibitions Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s, Aquí en Chicago, and Lincoln’s Chicago
Artist Installations
Every three months in 2026, a new work from a local artist will appear in the Museum’s lobby. Each work reflects upon the lasting legacy of one of four foundational documents in CHM’s collection:
- Declaration of Independence (January–March)
Artist: Vida Sačić - Northwest Ordinance (April–June)
Artists: Carlos Flores and Deon Reed (pictured left) - Constitution (July–September)
Artist: Barrett Keithley - Thirteenth Amendment (October–December)
Artist: Dorian Sylvain
Let Freedom Read Dress
Starting April 7, the Chicago History Museum welcomes the traveling Let Freedom Read Dress to our 1st floor Mabie Gallery.
Created by Kirby Gene Anderson and Rachel Jane Wittmann, this dress celebrates the American Library Association’s 2023 Banned Book Week’s theme “Let Freedom Read,” which is a phrase adapted from “let freedom ring,” the closing chorus of the patriotic song “America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee)” written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831.
In opposition to these book challenges, especially to those books with LGBTQIA+ content, Salt Lake City drag artist Gia Bianca Stephens wore the Let Freedom Read Dress in conjunction with Banned Book Week 2023.
Facing Freedom
To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, Facing Freedom has been reimagined with updated content that investigates how people have shaped freedom through civic action, service, innovation, and advocacy.
From the Pullman porters to the suffragists, from freedom seekers to house heads, explore eight familiar and not-so-familiar stories in Chicago’s and the nation’s past and consider the question: What can we do for freedom?
Threads of a Nation
How do museums preserve the past for the future? How do we use our artifacts to tell a fuller story?
From the black velvet suit George Washington wore at his second inauguration and John Adams’s diplomatic suits, to Abraham Lincoln’s overcoat and top hat and Mary Lincoln’s trend-setting plaid dress. Our upcoming exhibition Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing explores how conservators protect and preserve these materials for future generations. This behind-the-scenes work is part of the Museum’s recognition of the nation’s 250th anniversary and demonstrates our long-standing commitment to caring for our renowned collection.
Opening October 24, 2026
Learn about conservation at CHMAdditional Resources
- Concert is Power: Chicago’s First Free Black Generation (online exhibition)
- Concert is Power: Free Black Movements in Antebellum Chicago (online exhibition)
- The Last Hours of Abraham Lincoln (blog post)
- A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln (online exhibition)
- A National Treasure (blog post)
- Autopsy of the Pledge of Allegiance (digital project)
- Democracy Limited: Chicago Women and the Vote (online exhibition)
- Democracy Limited blog post series
- Fighting for the Right to Vote (blog post)
Civic Season
The Chicago History Museum collaborates with local community leaders, artists, and youth to set the stage every summer for Civic Season in partnership with Made By Us. Our programming starts Juneteenth and continues with Civic Saturdays all leading toward our final program on Independence Day.
During Civic Season, the Museum will serve as a space to help Chicagoans connect with their communities and build new skills. Using the past as a guide, we can draw a roadmap to future community participation so we may all be more informed and engaged citizens.
