wife. president wilson writes back, i am sincerely grateful to you. sympathy does strengthen and sustain and i want to say that your kind message was a most welcome evidence of your kindness and personal thoughtfulness. being from different parties as well, i think that says a lot. about that relationship he was able to have, and kind of bridge those gaps. >> our cities for staff recently traveled to provo utah to learn more about its history. c-span.org/cities toward. you're watching american history tv. each week, american artifacts

takes you to museums and historic places. up next we traveled to philadelphia to look at the museum of the american revolution, we see highlights of the artifact collection. >> the idea goes back a century with the descendents. it was acquired by a minister at a valley forge area. it also launched the idea of the museum to tell the whole story of the revolution. they really have no peer. we have objects related that are truly unique. they bring to life his leadership, his incredible role in keeping the continental army together. at the same time, we have objects that represent the common footsoldier and objects

of notflect the role just a american soldiers but british and french. our collection will enable us to really present the entire story of the american revolution. scott stevenson is good director of programs for the museum. person to talk to. he has created exhibits and is deeply experienced. artifacts, the equipment that was used to bring about the revolution. together the

collection. this is the highlight and certainly in education of the story line are telling in the museum. the first gallery that you will come into will take visitors back to the end of the french and indian war there is a new , george therch third. he is young and very vibrant. americans are extremely patriotic. they have just participated in one of the most germanic victories in modern history. the first object i wanted to show you is actually an engraved foreign.

this was carved in 1863. it isn see a crown actually engraved with the theme of havana in cuba. these are some of the fortification the british and havanan forces had taken forumhe spanish in this was carved after the piece of paris. in july was illuminated 7, -- this marked a moment in

which rims and americans were reveling in being a part of this magnificent empire. they defeated the spanish and the french and their allies. not just in north america but this was one of the last actions so it was the first -- of coursear shortly after someone has to pay the bill. the story will tell and it

begins just after this great, victorious moment when policymakers had to face up to the cost of victory. the you have something like 80,000 catholic and french inhabitants. tens of thousands of native americans, they are all now subject to king george the third. fleet had to be stationed policing. this is because of the odious stamp act. which many people view as the beginning of the revolutionary period. it takes another 10 years for there to be shooting that starts in north america, but that is the roots of the revolutionary story.

britain has to raise revenue to try to cover these costs. it is a common fallacy that the stamp act was to pay for the cost of that war. that price had actually been born by british taxpayers who had been squeezed just like we often say today, can't afford any more taxes. there were looking at americans and saying they are lightly taxed. maybe they can bear the cost of their defense. and so, a lot of the next decade, and that is where we move in. we have an image of what the gallery, where we tell the story will be located under the limbs of boston's liberty tree, a re-creation. where we will talk about that decade from 1765 to 1775 when americans begin to articulate their views of their, first, their english liberties that are being infringed by these acts

and taxes on the part of the british. and one of the objects we will show, this is a chinese porcelain punch bowl. so, this was used to serve alcoholic punches in taverns and homes in britain and america. this was produced in china and for the export trade to britain and america. has the arms of liberty and the figure of john wilkes, who was a british opposition politician against the, rallied support in britain against the administration of lord beaut. he became a very popular figure for the american sons of liberty. and they would often use wilke'' image in their propaganda. when they were protesting for american liberty all through the 1760's and 1770's. that is wonderful, evocative piece.

as american colonists begin shouting very loudly and increasingly loud about their rights as englishmen and their feeling that there is a conspiracy to inflate them underway under way in the british parliament, the whole issue of slavery, of chattel slavery increasingly the contravention of these calls for liberty with the presence of slavery, particularly in america it existed in britain but was widespread in america -- becomes louder. so, this next item is an incredibly rare and important work. this is a volume of poem published in london in 1773. a young woman named phyllis wheatley, the first published african-american poet in american history.

phyllis wheatley had been enslaved off the west coast of africa, probably in gambia or senegal and brought to the new world in the 1750's at 8 years old. she eventually was sold to a family by the name of wheatley in massachusetts. the daughter taught her to read and write. she had a real natural talent for writing verse. and, of course, at the time, this was an extraordinary development. so much so, that there were those she began publishing pieces in the newspaper and they begin to be circulated. there was a trial held in boston where people like john hancock and other figures in the community were brought together to basically put her on trial, ask her questions to try to determine if it was possible that this african-american woman could have written poetry like

this. of course, she passed. and they actually wrote a testimonial saying that they believed that she, in fact, had been the talented writer who produced this poetry. and so, in 1773, she traveled to london and this volume was published. it is also remarkable in that we have an engraved image presumably a good, physical likeness of phyllis wheatley. this volume, and i will turn the page to show you, is also, as it would be wonderful even by itself, but it is one of the few examples that have actually come down to us with phillis wheatley's signature on the volume. and it just does not get better than that. you know, trying to find the tangible objects that allow us to discuss the very important contributions of african americans to the founding period of our nation. it can be a real struggle as a curator to find this material

person we are incredibly blessed to have that volume available and to share with our visitors once we are open. and that will be in that same gallery located right next to the liberty tree. so our visitors can reflect on the contradiction between these calls for liberty and the continued persistence of slavery. couple of other items. these are later bindings of two 18th century publications. him him of course, at the end of this decade of increasing division between americans and britains over this issue of taxation and representation in the empire, it comes to a head in the aftermath of the boston tea party and the coercive acts passed by parliament in 1774. delegates come together in philadelphia at the first continental congress in the fall of 1774.

those delegates meet in a small building that still stands today across the street from the future museum of the american revolution, carpenters hall. this is often known as the first continental congress. and so, this is a first printing of the journals of the proceedings of congress. in this case, the first continental congress held in philadelphia september 5, 1774. and was published just on the street from where the museum will be located at the london coffeehouse. this is the corner of market and front street in old town philadelphia. this wonderful emblem that we have in the center, very symbolic, you as you can see there is the hand -- each one representing one of the

colonies with the pillar and a liberty cap at the top and the words "magna carter" underneath, still reminding us that these delegates on the eve of the revolutionary war are still appealing to their rises in which meant -- their rights as englishmen to define their place in the empire and seek redress for these grievances. of course, not everybody felt this was the right way to go. there were still, this is by no means the consensus of all americans that we should be pushing literally to the brink of war to the point where the congress is calling for americans to form voluntary military associations and prepare to fight britain in the fall of 1774. this is a piece of opposition literature published new york, and i think it is funny to look now because it seems very contemporary in a sense. what think ye of the congress now? which we might say in 2015 as well. or an inquiry, how far the

americans are bound to abide and execute the decisions of the late congress. this is a loyalist tract, calling into question the legitimacy of that group of delegates here in philadelphia at the first continental congress. , and of course, this is the beginnings of a divide that will split eventually into tories and patriots or loyalist and revolutionaries during the revolution and result in tens of thousands of americans who chose to exile themselves as a result of the revolution and become founders of other nations. many people in canada can trace ancestry to loyalist ancestors who left places like new york, boston, and philadelphia in order to settle in canada after

the war. this, another engraved powderhorn. this one dating to 1775. it is a wonderful object to transition from pre-war decade of americans appealing to the britains as shared inheritors of a tradition of british liberty and transitioning to making a decision to declare independence and go their own separate way. so, this is a powderhorn that belong to a man's name william waller, a virginia that lived near shepherdstown, west virginia. not far from washington, d.c. it has a lot of the slogans we associate with the revolution or movement. most recognizable "liberty or death." these words reported be spoken by patrick henry at the

beginning of the war. i will lift this carefully out of the amount. you can see "kill or be killed," which is a contemporary sounding slogan. and "appeal to heaven." which was something that appeared on new england flags at the time and was also a very popular slogan at the beginning of the war. the date, 1775. and curiously, this crown. if you will remember on that havana powderhorn, also a crown with g.r. iii. sometimes people who see this horn are confuse. this guy was a virginia fighting in the continental army. why would he have a crown on his powderhorn? in 1775, these men are still fighting to restore their rights as englishmen within the empire. so it's perfectly consistent to see the king as the person who is going to intercede with parliament. that parliament is the group that is oppressing and trying to enslave americans. of course, all of that changes between summer of 1775 and summer of 1776, in which americans finally when they hear that the king has refused to read a petition sent by the

second continental congress, the olive branch petitioned, that he is declared them to be in rebellion, essentially taken them out of his protection, they then, encouraged by an immigrant englishmen by the name of thomas pain who writes "common sense," declare independence. this newspaper if i am is a bound volume of all of the papers in philadelphia. the pennsylvania evening post from 1776. i have turned to the page on

saturday, july 6, 1776. and this is the first newspaper printing in english of the declaration of independence. so, while many viewers will, have seen the large broad-sized published by john dunlap and other printers, it would've been posted upin public places, this is probably the way many colonial americans first reads the words of the decoration of independence published in newspapers. first in philadelphia but then quickly scattering through the other colonies, and then eventually by august appearing in london itself. so independence had actually been already declared on july 2 of 1776. we celebrate the 4th. the 4th is the day the declaration of independence, the final version, was adopted by congress. then it is sent off and printed. tuesday, july 2, 1776. as you can see, just general descriptions of activities going on in various cities around the world and around the nation. more news, things going on in providence, in newport and new haven and philadelphia. and literally the news must have arrived very late in the day because they had set the type.

they were at the ends of the news columns just defer the classified ads, and here this day, the continental congress declared the united colonies free and independent states. that is the announcement of the birth of the united states. to be sold, the brigantine two friends. and we move on to the classifieds. in some ways, i love showing people that volume as much as the declaration. so that is really the birth of the united states. of course, nothing on the fourth, because that is the day the declaration is finally being put into its final form and adopted by congress.

at the end of the first page, all of these lines are indictments against the king. congress explaining its decision to declare independence by citing all his grievances against the king. among those, he has abdicated government by his declaring us out of his protection. that is saying basically, my armies and navies are going to attack you. then he says, he is at this time "transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun --" this cap, this fragment of a cap, originally belonged to one of those foreign, what americans referred to as foreign mercenaries. the hetian soldiers from one of several principalities in the german-speaking states of central europe. so this is a fusilier cap. this is an archaeological fragment. it was recovered from the delaware river near, if you've ever flown into philadelphia

international airport, as you are landing, if you look at the river, there all the remnants of a bunch of barriers americans put there to keep the british from taking philadelphia in 1777. at some point over the winter of 1777, a boatload of hetians got caught up and dumped into the river with their baggage. this cap was recovered during the first world war by a corps of engineers folks dredging the channel. so this is actually a brass gilt, metal pieces. this would've had a woold liner in the back. it would've been worn on the head of the hetian fusilier, driving washington's army back to new jersey and retreated into pennsylvania. could well have been worn in the actions right up to the crossing and the battles of trenton and

princeton. then the soldier may well have been part of the garrison of new york. then a reinforcements into philadelphia in that winter of 1777-1778. that same winter, the american army, george washington's army, was encamped about 20 miles west of philadelphia. british army had taken the rebel capital of philadelphia and was hoping to split off philadelphia and the northern colonies from the southern colonies and end the rebellion. washington's army marches into valley forge, about 20 miles west. in this is actually a painting, will be very recognizable to people. probably one of the most iconic images of the american revolution. it was painted after the civil war. very evocative of the date, december 19, 1777, as washington's army marches into its winter quarters of valley forge. this is a painting that will be recognizable. it is very iconic.

it was painted after the civil war but very evocative. and couple of the objects i have would have been witnesses to that winter encampment. the first is a para silver camp cups. these pastel to relatives of general washington who had this "w" engraved on the later and the legend camp cup owned and used by general washington during the war of the revolution. these are part of a set of 12 cups which remarkable is the original receipt has survived. we know that these were made by a philadelphia silversmith working at second and market street in old city philadelphia.

washington paid for these cups two days before he in the continental army marched to philadelphia write down chestnut street, virtually passed the future. front door of the museum of the american revolution they passed congress which was drawn up on the steps of independence hall. john adams wrote to abigail adams describing the scene. he said they were very spry, although not all instep and he thought that they needed a little bit of work to look professional, but he was very buoyed at the site of seeing this vast army marching through philadelphia, very much like the fellows in the painting are doing. of course, about a month later, almost to the day, the british army marches down that same street and occupies philadelphia. so this was one of those many,

many dark days of the american revolution. so, washington's army then marches into valley forge. and this was one of the winters, as she did every winter through the 8 years of the war, that martha washington joined general washington. one of the rarest objects in the collection i will share with you now. this is a volume that was actually owned by martha washington. it is -- see her signature. m. washington and it's an early edition, printed in england. it was known as a help and guide to christian families, published in london in 1752. quite likely a book that she may well you can imagine would have taken along with her to camp to spend the winter of valley forge p the top of the page is missing. almost certain it was clipped by an autograph collector in the 19th century. her name would have been written out there as well. and it was probably clipped by a

collector. if any viewers have been in the collection, we would love to reunite the book in the autograph, but there is her signature -- martha washington. that is a book that spent the winter at valley forge along with the general and his suffering soldiers. few other objects, again, an object that quite likely was also used at valley forge -- the soldiers canteen. it seems like a fairly mundane object, but there have a dozen canteens that have survived from the revolution with the surcharge which tells us that, the state surcharge which tells us this was the property of the continental army that was marked.

that was in order that came out midway through the war because so much of the material they were having trouble keeping track. soldiers would be discharged and take their gear. short on supplies. there was an effort by marking weapons and accouterments and things like canteens they could try to get a better handle on keeping all of that material. >> one of the great treasures in our collection is a simple, modest little flag. blue background appears 13 stars. it was general washington's personal standard. it really really signified his presence. when you saw that flag, you knew general washington was in command. it's incredible it has survived. so few flags from the revolution have. it came to us from a descendent of general washington's sister betty. her son was an officer in what is called the lifeguard.

these were the men and officers that were personally assigned to general washington, that had the responsibility of ensuring his safety. so it is a wonderful object directly from the washington family that again, reflects his command, his leadership of the continental army during the revolution. the museum will be located in the very heart of philadelphia's historic area. the national parks service agreed with the importance of this museum and gave up ownership of part of independence park just so dismiss him could be built within two blocks of independence hall. so, every visitor who comes to discover the birthplace of america, will now have an opportunity to learn the larger context, the story of the american revolution and how that independence and that liberty was achieved. at this point, construction is in full swing. our contractor has finished

pouring the foundations for the building, and will start putting up steel and another month. we are right on schedule to open a museum in early 2017. >> and that was the first of a two-part look at the collections of the museum of the american is revolution. in part two, we will see a part of george washington's tent from the revolutionary war. >> boston college professor teaches a class on the new roles women assumed during the late 19th century. she describes the games women various fields. she also looks at the growth of political organizations run by women. this class is just over an hour.