Forging Independence | Building a Nation

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, the NBWM will open a new suite of conjoined galleries in December 2025 that explore stories of independence, struggle, and citizenship in the region during the late colonial and early Republican period (1760-1830).

Forging Independence | Building a Nation outlines the historical events of the American Revolution, paying particular attention to military incidents with a regional connection, including the Boston Tea Party, which happened on the locally built and owned vessel the Dartmouth, Grey’s raid, encompassing the defense of Fort Phoenix, the siege and burning of Bedford Village, and the Bombardment of Fairhaven. The installation frames these war-time events within larger state-wide and national arcs, including the Stamp Tax Crisis, Battle of Bunker Hill, and Occupation of Boston, and Massachusetts statehood, the adoption of the State Bill of Rights, and early activities tied to nation building. What did it mean to discard a system of governance and colonial allegiance and establish a new country? How did all entities involved grapple with and make sense of the revolutionary period and what came after, when they forged a new country? What ideas and tenets became pillars of that era, how are their legacies felt today, and what complications or tensions arose in that space of negotiation?

The project will center and share diverse stories and experiences that demonstrate a more inclusive understanding of Massachusetts and the promises of the American Revolution. A strong historical chronology serves as the backbone for the exhibition. However, the interpretation follows two arcs: one focuses on the experiences of diverse individuals and the other makes connections between past and present. The exhibition utilizes artifacts and archival sources to illuminate the stories of local merchants who skirted blockades and traded as privateers, narratives of private citizens and regional residents, including men, women and children of different classes, ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and status, immigrants, Indigenous people, enslaved and free people of color. Content of the exhibition includes the voices and stories of those who served in the American militia, were passionate Revolutionaries, outright ambivalent about Independence, or avid British Loyalists.

Significantly, the exhibition relies on the deep and expansive permanent collection of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society/New Bedford Whaling Museum to tell these stories. This artifact driven project introduces connections between historical events and pressing issues of today, asking visitors to consider what ideas are embodied in the terms and ideas of Independence and Nationhood. Words like patriotism, freedom, taxation, citizenship, liberty, equality, justice, tolerance, and independence serve as keystones within the installation. This project will encourage thoughtful and ahistorical engagement with concepts that transcend the past and directly connect with our moment today and the future. These stories will resonate with residents and visitors because of the direct connections made between the past and present, the associations forged between objects, concepts, and individuals, and the ways in which those linkages broach insightful civic-minded questions about what it means to be “American.” What did Colonial citizens think America should or would be, and how do we today continue to ask those questions and shape that outcome?