THE EXHIBIT: FREEDOM:
THE HISTORY OF US
The current exhibit
is Freedom: The History of US, sponsored by G.E. In a
letter informing schools about the exhibit, Gus Serra, Manager
of Community Relations and Communication at G.E., wrote:
“History can
play an important part in helping young people understand
events of the day.”
The exhibit is based
on the book, Freedom: A History of US by Joy Hakim, and
was made into a landmark series of 16 TV documentaries that
aired on PBS for eight weeks beginning in January, 2003. The
videos are available from PBS and study guides and activities
are available at www.pbs.org.
When students come for the Freedom Tour, they may see excerpts
from the PBS series. The following is from the introduction
to the PBS guide:
“Freedom is
an exciting, even dangerous idea. It means independence –
the ability to act without being coerced by others. Freedom
requires risk taking, courage and a willingness to struggle
for the possibility of a better future. Freedom is one of
the founding principles of the United States.
The United States has offered hope for people seeking freedom.
At the same time, many Americans have been denied freedom.
When the Bill of Rights was written, slavery was an accepted
institution and married women were considered their husbands’
property. The freedoms that today offer us protection and
opportunities for change should not be taken for granted.”
There couldn’t
be a better time for you to see this exhibit, because the issues
it covers are very alive at this moment in our nation as issues
of democracy and our constitutional freedoms are being hotly
debated in Congress and all across the United States.
The exhibit reproduces
revolutionary documents – primary sources - of our history
that proclaimed our rights to self-government and freedom. It
shows evidence – letters, photographs, art work - of the
work of courageous men and women who took great risks as concepts
of freedom evolved.
As preparation for
the exhibit and, as a follow-up, we encourage your students
to conduct research and engage in discussions and debate on
their views about the past and present state of our freedoms.
This is not a mere academic exercise, but the results of the
research and the actions taken can affect the students and the
future history of our great country.
GOALS
OF THE FREEDOM TOUR
After viewing the
exhibit and participating in dialogue, students will:
- Learn or review
important facts from our history
- Gain insight from
history that helps us understand the present
- Understand more
about the process of history – analyzing and interpreting
primary sources: letters, photographs, drawings, paintings,
and documents, such as
- The Declaration
of Independence,
- The U.S. Constitution
- Engage in critical
thinking on the following:
- Freedom is
a concept that is evolving
- Compromises
were made in our past history
There is an
ongoing tension that continues today between freedom and
security, the ideal and the rea,l and citizens and governments.
The exhibit was
developed by Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and
the Meserve-Kunhardt Collection and is presented by PictureHistory
Educational Materials
Prepared by Janet Luongo, Educational Consultant
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