Through Education & Access

Declaring Independence: Then & Now

What does the Declaration of Independence mean today and what did it mean to citizens throughout the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area when it was conceived and debated during their lifetime?

The award-winning, thought-provoking public performance piece, Declaring Independence: Then & Now, seeks to answer this question by integrating a reading of the Declaration of Independence with first person accounts presented by living-history performers. As the 18th century words and ideas are performed, the narrator explores their meaning to challenge the audience to consider their relevance and power for today.

Declaring Independence: Then & Now is a public performance depicting how residents of communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire debated the idea of declaring independence from Great Britain in 1776. Developed with community partners, the program is held in historic venues across the Heritage Area. Each performance is uniquely tailored to the community in which it occurs, using a script written by citizen-historians. Performances are followed by an open conversation with the audience, with the intention of encouraging and deepening civic engagement.

In 2019, Declaring Independence: Then & Now received a Leadership in History Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), the nation’s most prestigious recognition of achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

This program was developed in collaboration with the public historian Mary Fuhrer, the American Antiquarian Society and community partners, with support from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.