Felicity Visits the Museum of the American Revolution

The new museum on the block!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia for a conference, which was exciting because I got to present an article that I’ve been working super hard on for close to eight months by now, but also because there’s a new museum in town that I’d been dying to see. 

The Museum of the American Revolution opened in April 19, 2017, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord, and you might remember that it was being advertised at Revolutionary War Weekend at Mount Vernon. It’s located in the historic area of Philadelphia, not far from Independence Hall and other Revolutionary era sites. I’d only visited Philly once before, several years ago now, and I was excited to get back to the city and check out this cool new destination.

Before I headed to the Museum of the American Revolution, I was sure to visit some of the other highlights in Independence Park. The last time I visited, A Peek into the Pantry wasn’t anywhere on my radar, so of course I hadn’t thought to take pictures with any dolls tagging along. 

Besides Independence Hall, I also walked by…

The Constitution Center, a very modern museum that discusses the history of the US Constitution, as well as its influence and meaning…

The site of Benjamin Rush’s house, complete with a garden that must be pretty when the plants are more alive…

The Betsy Ross House, which I’ve always thought was kind of a tourist trap because they emphasize through the tour that Betsy might not have made the first American flag with stars and stripes, might not have lived at this house, and might not have even existed, which is quite a number of qualifiers. They do have a really cool cat fountain in the courtyard though! Unfortunately it wasn’t running because this has been an extremely cold spring…

And finally City Tavern, the place where the Founding Fathers ate, drank, and discussed issues when they were taking a break from the Continental Congress up the street at Independence Hall. 

Well, sort of. The original tavern was destroyed in 1854 after being heavily damaged in a fire twenty years earlier. It was rebuilt in 1975 by the National Parks Service and reopened to the public in 1976. Chef Walter Staib of A Taste of History fame operates the Tavern currently, and the menu and decor is heavily inspired by food of the 18th Century. I got to eat here the last time I was in Philadelphia, but this time I was a poor grad student and decided to give it a pass. Hopefully next time I’m in the city I can give you a more detailed review of this very cool (and tasty) landmark!

As the Museum of the American Revolution is very new and fairly popular, they recommend you buy timed tickets online in advance. I bought mine for a slot right when the museum opened about a week before I headed into town, but I don’t know how feasible that would be if you did it say, the night before. 

The museum has two stories, with the first floor devoted to an introductory theater, a large space for kid friendly programming and other events, the gift shop and the café, which I promise I’ll get into more detail about later. The main galleries are up an impressive spiral stair case.

The galleries start with the American colonies on the brink of revolution, going into detail about the state of Britain as a world power and discussing the diverse populations that lived in the American colonies. It then transitions into discussing how tensions began to arise between Britain and America, and how Americans began to protest for more equal treatment under the law.

Several galleries were fairly immersive, such as this one featuring a fake Liberty Tree, complete with a piece of real Liberty Tree in the middle visitors were allowed to touch. Broadsides were posted to the walls, and foot and horse prints were pressed into the ground, making it look like you were walking along a dirt road. A cabinet display of different goods Americans had to import through Britain or could make at home lined one wall and featured interactive drawers.

As many of your probably know, these immersive exhibits are some of my favorites in modern museum design. I love feeling like I’ve been transported into another place when I’m visiting a museum! 

There were even some boxes of tea, which look a lot different from the tea Felicity watched my mom throw into Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum…

This gallery also had one of the coolest artifacts in the museum’s collections: a first edition book of Phyllis Wheatley’s poems, signed by the author herself!

The museum then transitions into discussing the start of the war itself, and highlights the tensions between Americans living in different parts of the colonies. In many ways, the various colonies and regions were almost like foreign countries, with different customs, personalities and motivations for joining the war effort. It was a challenge for leaders like George Washington to unite the troops behind common causes. 

It also emphasized the challenges faced by the Continental Army, and did a great job of illustrating how precarious American independence actually was. Although other galleries weren’t quite as immersive as the Liberty Tree gallery, they did make good use of life size mannequins to help bring some of these figures to life for visitors.

One of the best parts of the museum was its dedication to shining attention on participants in the Revolution who are usually largely ignored by history books like women, African Americans, Native Americans, and religious minorities like the Quakers. 

I know some people I’ve spoken to have expressed they don’t understand why Philadelphia needed this museum because they already have so many sites talking about the American Revolution, and wouldn’t this one be redundant? And I want to state very clearly that no, that isn’t the case at all. The other historic sites in Philly generally tend to focus on the contributions of people we think of as traditional players in this struggle for independence: George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, the King of England, and so on. Those guys are all still here! But this museum’s focus on the average experience of Americans and those from minority groups that are often excluded from historical discussion was really refreshing and compliments the other sites in Philadelphia really well rather than just repeating the same old tired story over and over again. This museum doesn’t make visiting Independence Hall a thing of the past: they’re two episodes of the same television show. 

There were touch screens allowing visitors to explore how different people reacted to the beginning of the war…

Highlights of the contribution and struggles of women during the war…

And a theater presented by the Oneida Nation discussing how their ancestors were the first allies of American Independence, and showing how tribal leaders might have debated whether or not to ally themselves with the Americans.

A part I found especially interesting was a display that discussed the difficult decision faced by enslaved people during the war. The British promised enslaved people their freedom if they defected to the British Army, which could mean leaving behind the only home they had ever known, and an uncertain fate if the British lost. Army camps were also hives of disease, leading to many deaths of African American enlistees. But staying on plantations meant remaining in bondage. The museum emphasizes how for some members of American society, a red coat meant freedom, not tyranny. 

To help tell these stories, they have touch screen displays allowing visitors to follow the experiences of several African Americans who struggled with this decision, including a young woman who chose to run away from Mount Vernon to find freedom with the British Army. Very powerful, and not stories you’re likely to encounter in many other museums!

My only real complaint was that there was a relatively small gallery discussing the history of the war at sea, but I probably shouldn’t complain because I’ve been to many other more maritime focused museums that focus on it more specifically. 

The final gallery stresses that the American War for Independence might be over, but the American Revolution – the push for government of the people, by the people, for the people – continues today. There’s a theater discussing how revolutionary movements helped free African Americans held in slavery, gave women the right to vote, called for Civil Rights, and equal treatment for people with disabilities. They even touched on modern movements like Occupy Wallstreet (although not Black Lives Matter or the Women’s March…) 

There was also a wall of photographs of the Revolutionary generation, all of whom were in their twilight years when the photos were taken, a neat reminder for people that these were real human beings, not just an artist’s interpretation of a folk hero. 

Finally, there was a wall of mirrors reminding visitors that they were the future of the American Revolution, as we are all allowed to petition the government and fight for what we find fair. These mirrors were sort of oddly placed (I’m 5’4” and all the mirrors seemed too tall or too short for an adult human to see their reflection without crouching down), but the sentiment was nice.

Other highlights include a special theater where you can view George Washington’s camp tent, but they don’t allow photography of it, so you’ll have to take my word for it that it’s pretty cool.

Another touch I always appreciate at museums these days is the trend of making a restaurant that’s kind of on theme with the museum itself, which is what Cross Keys Café is trying to do.

It’s a very cute space, with a decent number of tables inside and out for visitors to use. They have examples of flags flown during the American Revolution on the far wall, and artwork of Revolutionary scenes on the others to help with the theming.

They have a variety of choices, mostly sandwiches and salads along with some hot options like macaroni and cheese.

Although it was a Sunday and there were school groups at the museum, the café wasn't too crowded while I was at the museum, which was nice. The National Museum of American History was renovating their cafeteria the last time I was there, and it meant the smaller café was totally swarmed with field trips. Not exactly a relaxing lunch time experience!

I got a roast beef sandwich, macaroni and cheese, and two of the dessert options because I wasn’t sure I was going to get dinner based on the time my train home was leaving.

The food was really tasty, and pretty reasonably priced. They also had a variety of hot coffee and tea drinks, and the woman working the register was super friendly. I would definitely recommend dropping by if you’re in the area, especially if there’s room outside on the patio and it’s a nice day. You can also visit the café without buying tickets to the rest of the museum. 

The desserts were also really cute. They’re marketed as “jars”, but they’re actually just mini plastic containers. The Martha Washington was a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse on top, and the Tun Tavern Bread Pudding was bread pudding with caramel, pecans, and chocolate chips. Both were super delicious, especially the bread pudding! I’d love to recreate this myself sometime, and if I do, you can bet I’ll share it with you!

Before I left, I also made sure to drop by the gift shop, where we spotted a familiar face!

For the record, if you’re not a completionist the way I am, I’d recommend skipping the Real Stories from My Time series, especially Felicity’s. It kind of pains me to say this because I thought the concept was pretty cool, but they’re all extremely cheaply printed and probably won’t hold up to heavy wear and tear. Even worse, the fictional parts of Felicity’s story include her – as an eight year old – dressing up as a boy and participating in the Boston Tea Party while visiting her aunt, uncle and cousin in Boston. Even worse, her father finds out and is totally cool with it! 

I love historical fiction and totally understand tweaking the past a little bit to make a story work, but I think it’s important to keep the fundamental rules of that time period intact, and I feel like this definitely doesn’t do that. Modern parents probably wouldn’t be happy to hear about their kid participating in a riot where a bunch of property was destroyed, but a parent in 1773 would probably be pretty furious, especially if it was their daughter! As sexist as that may be, it’s just the truth. 

Also, doesn’t this totally ignore a lot of stuff in Felicity’s core series? Shouldn’t participating in the Boston Tea Party have come up at least once in her books? Did the author of this one not read her core series at all? 

So, both in terms of story and historical accuracy, this book is kind of a hot mess. I’d definitely recommend skipping it, although it was nice to see in the gift shop. 

But this museum should definitely not be skipped, in my opinion! I really enjoyed it, and although they do charge admission, I think the price was reasonable and well worth it. I spent about four hours at the museum, although it’s probably easy to do in less if you’re in a rush or have less enthusiasm for museums than I do. It’s just a few blocks down the street from Independence Hall, so if you’re planning an American Revolution themed trip to Philadelphia, it can definitely be easily added to an itinerary, or give you a great reason to go back and visit again! 

Although Philly is most famous for its Revolutionary history, it is also home to the National Museum of Jewish History and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. I’m hoping that while I’m living in the DMV area (That’s DC, Maryland and Virginia!) I’ll have some more opportunities to head up that way and check those out, with Rebecca and Addy in tow, of course!

Until next time, I'll just have to figure out how to make this bread pudding myself!