Because we had Friday off from work for the 4th of July holiday, we decided to take a trip down (up? over?) to Peoria to visit the Peoria Riverfront Museum. We had visited earlier this year to see Project Hail Mary on their giant movie screen. While we were there, I saw they had a special exhibit on Dan Fogelberg, a special favorite of mine and a Peoria/Pekin native, so we stuck a pin in that to come back.

When we got there, though, the first thing we saw was another special exhibit for the 250th "birthday" of the US. This exhibit was guest-curated by Ken Burns, and turned out to be a really interesting exhibit with a ton of primary documents--more than one might expect at such a small, hyper-local museum.

The main display wall of the exhibit, stating "The Promise of Liberty--Ken Burns, Guest Curator"

There's a lot of interesting local history in Peoria--it's the oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois, and was named after the Peoria Tribe (who received exceedingly short shrift in this display, but don't get me started).

An ornately embroidered religious stole displayed in a glass cabinet. The stole dates back to the late 17th century and belonged to Father Jacques Marquette.

(Just so you know, I didn't photograph every item in the collection, just ones that I found particularly interesting. It's a BIG exhibit.)

Above is a stole that belonged to Jacques Marquette, who along with Louis Jolliet explored the route of the Mississippi River. Joliet, Illinois, is named after Louis; Jacques got to have several other places named after him, including Marquette University in Wisconsin.

A copy of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, displayed in a museum display. It's open to the Introduction. It is in decent condition--yellowed/sepia pages and a few stains.

An original copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

A large printed copy of the Declaration of Independence, framed on a museum wall.

A broadside of the Declaration of Independence.

A copy of The Pennsylvania Magazine showing the table of contents featuring Phillis Wheatley's poem to George Washington. There is a portrait of Wheatley above it and a facsimile of the poem itself to the right.

Phillis Wheatley's poem to George Washington, published in The Pennsylvania Magazine in 1776. The copy of the magazine here is an original; the print of the poem is (obviously) a reproduction. The first published African-American woman poet in America, Wheatley was transported from Africa into slavery and died at only 31 years old. Her first poem was published when she was only 13.

The Federalist Papers, in a compiled text. Two copies are displayed, open, in a museum cabinet.

The Federalist Papers, written by (sing it with me) Alexander Hamilton (and James Madison and John Jay but I don't think they have a song?). He always wrote like he was running out of time. The link is to the full text at the Library of Congress. The book pictured is of the first edition to publish them all under one cover.

An original of a manuscript written by Mercy Otis Warren. Pull quote: Americans are "too poor for monarchy, too wise for despotism, and too dissipated, selfish & extravagant for republicanism."

A manuscript written by Mercy Otis Warren. Warren was a poet, playwright and satirist who documented the history of the American Revolution. She was the third American woman poet to publish her work under her own name (Phillis Wheatley and Ann Bradstreet beat her to it, if we're keeping score). She was both praised and excoriated by her (male) political contemporaries. The pull quote on the placard here is fire.

Framed copies of pages from contemporary publications with George Washington's commentary in favor of religious freedom in the infant US.

Oh, just some writings by George Washington on religious freedom, for no particular reason...

An original document by Thomas Jefferson, discussing his feelings on the necessity of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

Likewise, Thomas Jefferson on the protections of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, again for no particular reason...

A framed, handwritten piece by Frederick Douglass, stating, Right is of no sex, age, country, color, or clime. The right to personal freedom is the most palpable of all other rights."

A bit of manuscript by Frederick Douglass discussing the definition of liberty.

A four-gallon ceramic storage container, brown, with "Dave" scratched into its surface.

A storage jar made by David Drake, "one of the few enslaved potters who can be identified and recognized today for his contributions to American material culture." He inscribed his name as well as bits of poetry on his work. The link is to the National Gallery of Art, and the article is well worth reading.

A bound copy of a text titled "Oration," with a photo of Frederick Douglass on the inside front cover. An excerpt is featured on the display card to the right in the case.

More Frederick Douglass, this time "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?"

"This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn ... What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? ... a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham ... your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings ... hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages."

Read the full text here.

There was obviously a LOT more to this exhibit. I thought it was extremely well done, overall, and I learned some things! There's also a lot more to this museum, ad I'll talk about that in the next part.