Curator Kevin

“The generation which commences a revolution rarely completes it.”
– Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, Sept 4, 1823

As we go into this milestone weekend in our country’s history, one hope we all had as nation-wide state-level 250th planners was that what we produced would inspire a resurgence of public interest in local histories as well as conversation about our national identity. (Huge shoutout to American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for being so instrumental in providing us the platform to do just that!) We all reflected on what made us excited about history as kids – having grown up in the wake of the public interest wave that flowed from the bicentennial and all the wonderful history related projects, products, and investments in historical resources that the 200th anniversary produced. We worked for the last 5 years at creating grassroots initiatives and local activations that we dreamed would guide the national conversation. We all knew that this year was bound to be different from others and that it may be an uphill battle at times.

As I get my historic madeira wine ready for tomorrow and debate on if 100+ degree weather is too hot for a black felt tricorne hat or not, I find myself these last couple of days thinking about ‘history’ and it’s role in our society today. As we go into this 4th of July, I think it’s important to remember that studying our history means we seek to understand people – what motivates them, what inspires them, what causes them to choose a course of action over another. Most importantly for this 250th commemoration, I believe we must remember that the ultimate question to ask when studying history isn’t ‘will this be on the test?’ but rather to ask ourselves this day – and every day – ‘what was it all for?’

In the end, we know that our history tells us that the promise they made 250 years ago – that they believed that “all men are created equal” – was not made whole and was never going to be made reality in their own time, because it couldn’t be for many reason – due to deficiency in moral fortitude, entrenched systemic issues, or prejudices. In the end though that wasn’t the promise they actually made. The promise they made was to work together to provide an opportunity for the next generation to strive for that aspirational goal with the expectation that the next generation, and the next, and the next beyond that would always continue to work toward the possibility of ‘a more perfect union.’ That’s the American revolution. It’s then. It’s now. And it’s tomorrow. Because in the end, we each have inherited that same pledge, that same promise – it’s up to us to actively choose to rededicate that pledge that they wrote down with quill pen and paper.

The ending of the Declaration of Independence has one of the most profound, self-reflection statements in our history: “And for the support of this Declaration… we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They knew they couldn’t do alone or in separate camps. That didn’t mean that they each liked each other much less believed the same things. That meant that they saw the value in putting aside those differences in order to at least try to do better. And it wouldn’t be just through their own blood and treasure; it would require something deeper, more eternally binding: their Honor which they held to be sacred. Because their decency, their integrity was just as worthwhile to them in their time as their money and their very lives.

For the chance of a better tomorrow, we must commit to each other today – not just our pocketbooks and sweat, but our honor and our integrity.