A bus trip to the Museum of the American Revolution proves to be a definitive lesson in patriotic heritage.
On a recent Saturday morning, a full bus headed to Philadelphia to the Museum of the American Revolution to observe and learn about the significance of an object in declaring the independence of a marginalized group.
The object is Vineland Historical Society’s handmade ballot box, circa 1868. The group is women. And the place to currently view it is the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
The special exhibit titled “The Declaration’s Journey” explores 250 years of global declarations—of equality, independence, and freedom. Objects and stories are used to examine the history and global impact of the Declaration of Independence from 1776 to today.
The first exhibit you encounter is two seats, one used by Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence and the other a metal bench from the Birmingham, Alabama jail cell that housed Dr. Martin Luther King. Inspired by the words “…all men are created equal,” Dr. King fought for the promise that America would be a land where all people would be treated equally.
Doesn’t the Declaration of Independence also mean equality for women and the right to vote? The women of Vineland firmly believed this and staged the largest suffrage protest of its kind in the United States in 1868. Portia Kellogg Gage, a founder of the New Jersey Women’s Suffrage Association, led 172 women—both white and African American—to vote in the federal election. When their ballots were refused, they set up their own table and their own ballot box to cast their votes. Their handmade, berry-crate ballot box, which is from the collections of the Vineland Historical Society, is on display for this special exhibit. This landmark protest helped lay the groundwork for future advances in women’s voting rights.
The Declaration’s Journey exhibit runs until January 3, 2027. The Museum of the American Revolution is located at 101 S. 3rd Street in Philadelphia.
Learn more about the women of Vineland at The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society (www.discovervinelandhistory.org), located at 108 S. 7th Street in Vineland.
