Historic.us · Primary source exhibits
Encounter history through original sources.
Exhibits, educational programs, and presentations that bring historic documents into public conversation.
Explore the letters, publications, and artifacts through which people recorded their experiences, exercised power, challenged injustice, and shaped the world around them.
Look closely. Ask questions. Follow the evidence.
Historic.us is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to encouraging the public to examine history through original sources. Our mission is to cultivate respect for truth, the critical judgment to seek it, and a willingness to question inherited assumptions.
Our exhibits place historical documents in context and invite visitors to consider who created them, why they were preserved, and what they can—and cannot—tell us. Close attention to evidence makes room for discovery, discussion, and revised interpretations.
Explore the collection in context
Featured exhibits and projects
Discover exhibition histories and online resources. Historical event dates identify past programs; inquire below about availability for a new presentation.
Rebels With a Cause
Historic documents of freedom, leadership, and political change, with photographs and accounts from the exhibition’s history.
Explore the exhibitHolocaust Witnessed: The Weight of Words
Documents and educational resources examining persecution, testimony, and remembrance.
Explore the projectAmerican Hospitality, 1776–1976
The Forgotten First Ladies: an exhibit presented at the National Liberty Museum during Philadelphia’s PoliticalFest in 2016.
Visit the exhibit archivePartners in the Parks · 2017
Students, historic places, and original documents: the Philadelphia, Valley Forge, and New York citizenship program.
Explore the program record
Read the documents. Examine the argument.
Research and education
Our historical studies connect the objects on display with the institutions, ideas, and disputes they illuminate. The founding-era studies below examine the Articles of Confederation as the United States’ first national constitution, the government that operated under them, and the movement for constitutional reform.
The Articles of Confederation
The first national constitution: its institutions, delegated powers, limitations, and legacy.
The Decree of Trenton
An Article IX interstate judgment—and the distinction between state jurisdiction and private land titles.
The Annapolis Convention
How a commercial meeting in 1786 recommended broader reform of the federal constitution.
The constitution–treaty debate
Historical correspondence and editorial notes examining competing descriptions of the Confederation.
Additional teaching materials: the U.S. founding curriculum. Historical analysis should distinguish contemporary documents, later reproductions, collection descriptions, and editorial interpretation.
Explore more subjects
- Continental Congress and the Revolutionary War
- Constitutions, the Northwest Ordinance, and early federal government
- Women’s history, suffrage, and public life
- Civil rights and Black history
- The Holocaust and the world wars
- Business, real estate, science, and space exploration
- The War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, and Spanish-American War
- World leaders, presidents, and hospitality
Article the First: the congressional apportionment proposal · Presidents and hospitality
Bring original sources to your audience
Host an exhibit or presentation
Historic.us works with educational institutions, museums, libraries, historical societies, associations, and event organizers to bring historical materials into public discussion.
Tell us about your audience, subject, proposed dates, location, and available space. We can discuss exhibit and speaker options and the practical arrangements for your event.
From the exhibition archive
Past exhibits and public programs
The photographs below document selected presentations and collection displays from Historic.us’s history. Captions describe the events shown, rather than current exhibitions or institutional endorsements.
Exhibits in the public conversation
Watch exhibit and educational videos
Historical context: the presidency of the Continental and Confederation Congresses was a congressional office, distinct from the executive presidency created by the Constitution of 1787.
Start a conversation
Contact Historic.us
Stanley Yavneh Klos, President
stan@historic.us
727-771-1776 · Exhibit inquiries
Mailing address and additional contact information
Historic.us Corporation2016 Central Ave SW, Suite 7021
Albuquerque, NM 87104-9988
Office: 202-239-1774
Fax: 202-239-0037
