Facing freedom in America

Permanent event at the Chicago History Museum in Chicago, United States

16 October 2024

Facing freedom in America, exhibition view. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

Generations of Americans have grappled with the meaning of freedom as it is expressed in the United States’ founding documents. Discover how fights for equality has transformed what it means to be free and how denied rights are gained.

Based on the central idea that the history of the United States has been shaped by conflicts over what it means to be free, this exhibition uses images, artifacts, and interactive elements to explore familiar and not-so-familiar stories from the nation’s past. From women’s suffrage and the formation of labor unions, to Japanese internment and a local school boycott, the exhibition highlights some of the ways Americans have struggled over the meaning of freedom.

The Naphtali ben Yakov Pritzker American History Wing is made possible through a generous grant from Tawani Foundation, through the support of Col. (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (retired), President and Founder, Pritzker Military Library and Tawani Foundation.

Chicago History Museum

The Museum continues to share the stories of the city and its people through exhibitions, programs, publications, and digital media.

Museum profile

Location

Chicago, United States

Founded in

1956

This broadside advertised a convention held by the National Woman’s Party. The group’s ideas and actions were considered radical, even by some other suffragists. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

This propaganda poster was created to raise money and support for the US war effort and depicts the Japanese Home Islands with a bomb falling on the flag of the Imperial Japanese Army, US Treasury Department. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

In the early 1940s, A. Philip Randolph organized a March on Washington movement to protest discrimination in government hiring practices and segregation in the armed forces. Flyers like this one urged black Chicagoans to support Randolph’s plans. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

This broadside advertised a convention held by the National Woman’s Party. The group’s ideas and actions were considered radical, even by some other suffragists. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
This propaganda poster was created to raise money and support for the US war effort and depicts the Japanese Home Islands with a bomb falling on the flag of the Imperial Japanese Army, US Treasury Department. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
In the early 1940s, A. Philip Randolph organized a March on Washington movement to protest discrimination in government hiring practices and segregation in the armed forces. Flyers like this one urged black Chicagoans to support Randolph’s plans. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

This propaganda poster was created to raise money and support for the US war effort and depicts the Japanese Home Islands with a bomb falling on the flag of the Imperial Japanese Army, US Treasury Department. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
In the early 1940s, A. Philip Randolph organized a March on Washington movement to protest discrimination in government hiring practices and segregation in the armed forces. Flyers like this one urged black Chicagoans to support Randolph’s plans. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
This broadside advertised a convention held by the National Woman’s Party. The group’s ideas and actions were considered radical, even by some other suffragists. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum