Declaration of Innovation: How Springfield’s Revolutionary Ideas Shaped America

Here in Springfield, revolutionary thinking is nothing new. July 4 will mark 250 years since the Continental Congress ratified The Declaration of Independence. As The United States marks its revolutionary beginnings, the Wood Museum of Springfield History will explore our city’s role as a center of invention in the upcoming exhibition Declaration of Innovation: Springfield’s Revolutionary Ideas. Running from May 16 through September 27, guests will travel across different parts of Springfield’s past to see how revolutionary thoughts and creations came about.

Visitors can enter Springfield during the American Revolution and learn how colonists felt about separation from the British crown. They can play with colonial playing cards to learn how the Stamp Act taxed everyday goods. They will decipher colonial-era cursive, and try their hand at writing a Daily Declaration and sign off with their very own John Hancock.

Home to the revolutionary Merriam-Webster dictionary, visitors will also explore the words of early America. As part of our Museum Archives, we have a British Royal dictionary from 1777 and a Merriam-Webster Dictionary from 1879. How did the understanding of a “patriot” change over time? In 1777, a patriot was considered “a lover of his country,” but a little over 100 years later, a patriot was “A person who loves his country and zealously supports and defends it and its interests.”  The evolution of this word reflects the history of the American Revolution and the lessons learned during the American Civil War. Local workers at Merriam-Webster found it necessary to expand the definition, making a patriot not just a person who supports their country but someone who stands up for their country’s values.

In the Industrial Revolution area of the exhibition, guests will have hands-on experiences with some of Springfield’s world-changing innovations. Visitors will join an assembly line and use interchangeable parts so they can construct and customize a vehicle inspired by those in our collection. From the first gasoline-powered automobile to the iconic Gee Bee racing planes, guests will have plenty of opportunity to Declare their own Innovations and see how the industrial age revolutionized Springfield and factories around the world.

Opening May 16, we hope you will join us at Declaration of Innovation – Springfield’s Revolutionary Ideas to celebrate our city’s past and explore some of Springfield’s significant “firsts” to understand how anyone can be Revolutionary.

Elizabeth Kapp is the Curator of History at the Springfield Museums. She holds undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.