For 250 years, Tennesseans have pursued the founding ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence. We find the evidence in letters and diaries, judicial robes and cooking utensils, portraits and diplomas. We are still striving towards these goals today, where the decisions we make shape the future we create.​

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This digital exhibit is a companion to Humanities Tennessee's Shared Futures Lab's podcast series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076. We asked 11 museum curators, archivists, and historic site managers to share objects in their collections that show how Tennesseans have tried to create a more perfect union in the past and today. We also imagined future scenarios to think about how we might continue this story in the next 50 years.

 

What emerged is a collection of objects that point to questions about our country and how we understand our relationship to it and each other:
 

• Who is a citizen of the United States?

• Where is the United States?

• What rights and responsibilities do we have?

• How do we take care of each other?

• How do we tell this story?

​We invite you to think about those questions, too, and explore how these assembled artifacts reflect Tennesseans' pursuit of America's founding ideals in the past, present, and - maybe - the future.