PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The new Museum of the American Revolution will give visitors a more inclusive look at the war for the nation’s independence.
In addition to the familiar narrative of the founding fathers, the museum seeks to tell the stories of women, enslaved people and Native Americans who helped make up the country’s ‘founding generation.’ The museum opens Wednesday, the 242nd anniversary of the battle at Lexington and Concord, known as the “shot heard ’round the world” that began the Revolutionary War in 1775.
Museum President Michael Quinn says the museum will show visitors that the ideals of the Revolution were aspirational, and that present-day citizens must work to fulfill them. At other points, visitors must confront the contradictions of those ideals, as blacks and women were denied full equality at the end of the war.