Online Exhibit The Story of US: America at 250
Companion to the Full Exhibition at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
America’s founding was made with a bold promise: that freedom, equality, justice and the right to shape our own destiny belong to all people.
For nearly 250 years, those ideals have guided the nation’s journey—tested, challenged and redefined by each generation.
The Truman Library’s America250 exhibition, The Story of US, traces this journey through a visual timeline of pivotal moments in our nation’s first 250 years: the development of a new nation; territorial expansion and a nation divided; the fight for civil rights; instruments of war and surrender; engineering postwar peace; and, redefining American government.
With a special spotlight on President Truman’s leadership during one of the most consequential periods in U.S. history—from the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations to the desegregation of the armed forces and the defense of democracy during the Cold War—the exhibition explores what American leadership, citizenship and global responsibility mean in practice.
This online companion to The Story of US invites reflection on the past and the responsibilities of sustaining democracy for the future. Anchored by extraordinary loans from the National Archives, the exhibit honors the past, engages the present and inspires a more informed, inclusive tomorrow.
From the founding ideals that unite us to the challenges that shape us, step into a bold exploration of leadership, citizenship and democracy. America’s story isn’t finished—it’s still being written by all of us.
“A NEW NATION”
Before the United States was a country, it was an idea—a radical, dangerous, and improbable idea that a people could govern themselves. The objects gathered here trace the evolution of that idea into reality. From the iron weight of a cannon ball that set the stage for victory to the careful penmanship of documents that dared to outline what freedom could look like. Explore the seal that announced a new nation, a bill of rights that made promises to its people, the treaty that ended a war and drew borders from thin air, and the purchase that doubled a country, and its ambitions, overnight. Together, they don’t just tell the story of the formation of the United States, they reveal its values, desires, and aspirations.
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Before he became America’s most famous traitor, Benedict Arnold was a noted hero of the American Revolution. Show more
The USS Congress was an 8-gun row galley that Benedict Arnold declared the flagship of the fleet in the Battle of Valcour Island.
In October 1776 he stalled a British advance toward the upper Hudson River valley on Lake Champlain. It was one of the first battles of the fledgling United States Navy during the Revolutionary War. Out-manned and out-gunned, Arnold nevertheless stalled the British advance at the expense of the bulk of the fleet under his command.
This 12-pound cannonball was fired before Arnold’s ship was run aground and set ablaze. His defense of Lake Champlain held off the British long enough for the Continental Army to prepare for the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. The U.S. victory at Saratoga is often cited as a primary turning point for French support in the Revolutionary War.
The cannonball was a gift to former President Truman on his 75th birthday in 1959.
From the Truman Library collection
Hours after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a committee was appointed to design a seal for the new nation. Show more
Elements from three previous designs were incorporated into the final version: the motto E Pluribus Unum, “Out of Many, One;” olive branch; constellation of 13 stars; shield with red and white stripes on a blue field; and, an eagle. The seal was officially adopted on June 20, 1982.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: Open the Vault
Of the twelve amendments proposed for the Bill of Rights, ten were ratified and added to the Constitution in 1791. Show more
They defined citizens’ and states’ rights in relation to the newly established government. Of the two that were not adopted, one concerning congressional pay became the 27th amendment in 1992. The other, regarding congressional district representation, was never ratified.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: Open the Vault
The United States required American vessels to carry a sea letter in the 18th and 19th centuries. Like a ship’s passport, it identified the craft and its nationality. Show more
It also served as evidence of treaty privileges at foreign ports or neutrality when naval officers of warring nations came aboard. This passport for the schooner “Nancy Joseph Saunders,” dated February 3, 1797, is a Mediterranean Pass, printed on vellum. The wavy line of indenture along the top was used for authentication. Costing $10, the letter includes the signature of the Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, who provided the form, and President George Washington, who approved it.
From the Truman Library collection
This is one of only a few original copies of the treaty between the American colonies and Great Britain that ended the Revolutionary War. Show more
Signed on September 3, 1773, the agreement included British recognition of the United States as an independent nation with a boundary at the Mississippi River. This delineation doubled the nation’s size and enabled western expansion.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: Open the Vault
The purchase of 530 million acres from France was the United States’ first major land acquisition in the 1800s. Negotiators Robert Livingston and James Monroe were authorized to offer France $10 million for the port of New Orleans and the Floridas. Show more
When they were offered the entire territory of Louisiana—an area larger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal combined—they quickly agreed to pay $15 million. At approximately 4 cents an acre, the purchase doubled the size of the United States. While the agreement opened the West for American exploration and expansion, it negatively impacted the Native people who called the land home. Thousands of American Indians across dozens of tribes were forcibly moved onto reservations, lost vast acreage of tribal land, and were required to change their ways of life in an attempt to erase their religion and cultural heritage.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: Open the Vault
“SLAVERY, SECESSION AND SEGREGATION”
Unable to come to a compromise, the Framers of the United States Constitution left an unresolved question at its center, one that would be debated and negotiated for the next 250 years. The objects here trace the first 80 years of a country trying to live within its contradictions—lines drawn on maps with compromises that worked before they didn’t and court decisions that told an entire people that “We the People” did not apply to them. Until a telegram signaled that the argument had become a devastating war. The 13th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, revealed a country willing to revise itself in pursuit of its own ideals.
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This landmark piece of legislation maintained the delicate, 34-year balance of power between free states and slave states. Show more
Missouri was admitted as a slave state, while Maine joined as a free state. With the exception of Missouri, it banned slavery above the 36°30′ parallel, the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
Designed to avert a sectional crisis after the Mexican-American War, the series of 5 acts resolved territorial and slavery disputes: Show more
admitted California as a free state, provided that slavery be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states, prohibited slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a boundary dispute with Texas in favor of New Mexico, and established the Fugitive Slave Act, requiring federal agents and northern citizens to assist in returning runaway slaves.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
Introduced in Congress by Senator Stephen Douglas, the Kansas-Nebraska Act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, reopening the debate over slavery in western territories. Show more
Popular sovereignty would allow the settlers of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether slavery would be legal there. After the act passed in 1854, pro- and anti-slavery settlers rushed to Kansas in hopes of swaying the election, resulting in violent clashes.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
In 1846, an enslaved Black man and his wife, Dred and Harriet Scott, sued for their freedom in St. Louis Circuit Court. They claimed that they were free due to their residence in a free territory. Show more
After an 11-year legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Missouri Compromise, declaring that Congress lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories. The Court ruled that Black Americans—no matter their status—could not be citizens of the United States and receive any protection from the federal government or courts. The decision inspired Abraham Lincoln’s famous “A House Divided” speech and moved the nation closer to war.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
When Abraham Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had already seceded from the United States. Show more
As they did, they seized forts, arsenals, and federal property inside their borders. On April 10, 1861, Brigadier General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, commander of the provisional Confederate forces in Charleston, South Carolina, demanded surrender of the U.S. garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Major Robert Anderson refused and a 34-hour bombardment of well-equipped Confederate men on 68 U.S. soldiers with inferior armaments and scant food and supplies ensued. The bombardment of Fort Sumter became the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by three-fourths of the states on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. Show more
Although the Constitution does not require Presidential approval for amendments, President Lincoln signed this Joint Resolution proposing the 13th Amendment. It was one of three amendments that greatly expanded civil rights, along with the 14th granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and the 15th prohibiting the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
“THE FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS”
The 13th Amendment ended slavery, but new barriers quickly arose to take the place of old ones. These documents trace the continuing fight to close the gap between the nation’s founding ideals and its lived reality: the judgment that gave legal standing to inequality and the executive orders and court decisions that began to dismantle it. Progress came through lawsuits, protests and the brave work of individuals who refused to accept that the law’s promises weren’t meant for everyone. The Voting Rights Acts of 1965 solidified a freedom that was supposedly guaranteed a century earlier—the right to have a voice in American democracy.
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This landmark Supreme Court case upheld racial segregation, validating a Louisiana state law that allowed for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” Show more
The ruling would stand for 58 years until being overturned by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
With the inability to carry forward little of his civil rights proposals without the approval of Congress, as Commander in Chief, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948. Show more
The order provided for equal treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Forces regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin. It was signed alongside Executive Order 9980, which prohibits race-based employment discrimination in the federal government. The orders paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement, including the desegregation of public schools.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: Truman & Civil Rights Timeline
In ruling that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional, the Supreme Court overruled the “separate but equal” doctrine from its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Show more
In the ruling, the Court stated that “such segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws.” Although commonly known as Brown v. Board, it was actually five cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, that the court heard collectively.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
After the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education desegregated schools, nine African American students—the Little Rock Nine—enrolled at Little Rock Central High School. Show more
Their registration was met with intense, violent segregationist opposition including from Arkansas governor Orval Faubus who ordered the state National Guard to join the opposition. In response, President Eisenhower placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control and sent 1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to restore order. In 1998, the Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
The Voting Rights act enforced the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, 95 years after its ratification. Show more
The act outlawed discriminatory voting practices that many Southern states had adopted after the Civil War, including literacy tests. Four months after its signing, more than 250,000 new African Americans had registered to vote.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
“INSTRUMENTS OF WAR AND SURRENDER”
War is fought on the battlefield, but ended with paperwork. The documents here mark turning points in some of the 20th century’s most consequential conflicts. A notebook detailing experiments for the most destructive weapon ever built, the papers that brought World War II to a close in Europe and the Pacific, and the armistice that stopped the fighting in Korea—not a victory, but a pause that never became a peace. Each conflict drew the formerly isolationist United States deeper into global affairs and into the spotlight on the world stage.
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Scientists working on the highly-secret federal government effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II documented a particularly important experiment on December 2, 1942. Show more
At an unpretentious University of Chicago laboratory, they created the world’s first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Had it not been controlled, the experiment could have released a catastrophic amount of energy and wreaked havoc in the middle of densely populated Chicago. Less than three years later, the first atomic weapons would be used to end the war on the Pacific front when the United States dropped bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
In the early morning hours of May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the German Army signed the unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces in Reims, France. Show more
Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith signed the document on behalf of the Allies as the representative of General Eisenhower. Eisenhower refused to meet with the Germans until the surrender was complete. General Jodl signed four copies of the surrender, one for each of the Allies: United States, Great Britain, Russia, and France.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore:
Read Germany Surrenders
Aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, Japanese envoys Foreign Minister Mamora Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed the instrument of surrender, officially ending World War II. Show more
General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender for the United States, China, United Kingdom, Russia, and “in the interest of the other United Nations at war with Japan.” The instrument was prepared by the War Department and approved by President Harry Truman. In eight short paragraphs, it detailed the complete capitulation of Japan and the importance of the Emperor’s role, opening with “We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan.”
On loan from the National Archives through October 2026
More to Explore: This Day in History, September 2, 1945
When the Soviet-backed North Korean government launched a coordinated attack across the 38th parallel on the American-backed South Korean government, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution declaring the invasion a “breach of peace.” Show more
The United States and other UN members sent troops to support South Korea in the three-year conflict that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians. The agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, formally ending the war after the longest negotiated armistice in history: 158 meetings spread over two years and 17 days.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
“Engineering Postwar Peace”
As President Truman once said, “Victory always has its burdens and its responsibilities.” These documents trace America’s postwar solutions, from Woodrow Wilson’s vision for a world governed by principle rather than power to President Truman’s decision to invest in the world rather than simply dominate it—feeding devastated nations, rebuilding shattered economies, and forging alliances rooted in shared values. While Wilson imagined a new world order, Truman built one that has lasted for more than 75 years.
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On January 8, 1918, President Wilson proposed to Congress a 14-point program for world peace. When Allied leaders met in Versailles, France, in 1919 to formulate the treaty to end World War I, they disregarded most of Wilson’s recommendations. Show more
However, his capstone point—a world organization that would provide a system of collective security—was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles and resulted in the League of Nations. Although the League failed to prevent World War II, it set the stage for modern international relations and influenced the creation of the United Nations.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
In a speech to Congress on March 12, 1947, President Truman argued that the United States should support “free peoples resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Show more
To do that, he asked for $400 million to assist Turkey and Greece in combating communist influences. Congress’s approval established United States support of political, military, and economic assistance for all democratic nations under threat from authoritarianism. A year later, the Marshall Plan would provide similar assistance to Western European Nations.
On loan from the National Archives through October 2026
More to Explore: The Truman Doctrine
In a Harvard commencement speech on June 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced the Economic Recovery Act. Show more
Also known as the Marshall Plan, the legislation provided economic assistance to restore the infrastructure and economies of postwar Europe. Over the next four years, the United States provided over $13 billion to rebuild and modernize Europe’s war-torn economies, fostering strong transatlantic trade, and strengthening their democratic governments.
On loan from National Archives through October 2026
More to Explore: The Marshall Plan
The United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations signed a mutual defense pact in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. Now encompassing 32 countries, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the most successful defensive military alliance in history. Show more
Article V of the NATO Charter—an attack on one member is considered an attack against all members—has only been invoked once, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
More to Explore: This Day in History: NATO
“REDEFINING AMERICAN GOVERNMENT”
Since the nation’s founding, Americans have debated how much they want the government to do and who they want it to serve. This ongoing negotiation is represented by two documents—guaranteeing healthcare for the elderly and poor and granting citizens old enough to go to war the right to vote. Together, they reflect the ongoing struggle to fulfill the founders’ promise that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should belong to everyone.
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On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, establishing Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for people with limited income. Show more
The signing ceremony took place at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, with former President Truman in recognition of Truman’s efforts to establish a national health insurance program. During a subsequent trip, Johnson presented President and First Lady Truman with the first two Medicare cards.
On loan from the National Archives through October 2026
More to Explore: Signing Medicare Into Law
No amendment to the Constitution was ratified more quickly than the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age in the United States to 18. Show more
The amendment was approved by two-thirds of Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified by three-fourths of states by July 1, 1971. Commonly linked to the Vietnam War draft, the origins of the 26th Amendment actually date to 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress lowered the draft age to 18.
On loan from the National Archives through May 24, 2026
“Presidential Gifts and Commissions”
The objects in this exhibit were debated, drafted, and signed under the pressure of history. These objects arrived as gifts and commissions, presented to an American president in appreciation for his contributions on the world stage and with thanks for his life altering decisions. After compromises and amendments, instruments of surrender and treaties, it is fitting to end with the voices of the people and the things that they chose to share their gratitude with our nation’s highest office.
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This 18-karat gold, Cartier die features the seal of the President of the United States. The gift recipeint’s initials, H.T. for Harry Truman, are embossed in gold on the box’s top. Show more
President Truman redesigned the presidential seal on October 25, 1945. Most significantly, he turned the eagle’s head to face left toward the olive branch of peace instead of right toward the arrows of war. This die with the new seal symbolizes a peaceful nation.
From the Truman Library collection
Former Kansas City Mayor Bryce B. Smith purchased this likeness of Harry Truman carved from a coconut shell by an unknown Puerto Rican artist. Show more
The eyes, teeth, eyebrows, and neck have been painted. The glasses are attached with small nails behind the ears and the lenses are made of thin plastic sheeting.
From the Truman Library collection
De Kooning was commissioned to paint President John F. Kennedy for the Truman Library in 1962. She spent several sessions with Kennedy in Palm Beach, Florida, before returning to Manhattan to finish the piece based on her studies and photographs. Show more
After pausing for months after the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, De Kooning unveiled the completed portrait at the Truman Library in 1965. At the unveiling she told former president Harry Truman, “I offer you not a portrait of John F. Kennedy, but a glimpse.” Nine portraits resulted from the commission, several of which reside in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. De Kooning was an artist, art critic and teacher who utilized abstract expressionism techniques made famous by her husband, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock, among others.
From the Truman Library collection
More to Explore: Photograph Records
Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the fifth person to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission. In between collecting lunar samples, he hit two golf balls on the moon. Show more
Along with a makeshift 6-iron head, Shepard carried small U.S. and Missouri State flags with him on the journey from January 31 through February 9, 1971. He gifted them to President Truman along with a photo from the mission and a personal note.
From the Truman Library collection
First Lady Hillary Clinton wore this dress to the 52nd Presidential Inaugural Gala, an all-star event on January 19, 1993, to celebrate President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Show more
Broadcast on CBS, the event featured performances from Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Nicks, among others. Clinton donated the gown, designed by Martha Dixon of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to the Truman Library.
From the Truman Library collection
More to Explore: Photograph Records
Sponsor Salute
America250 initiatives are made possible, in part, by generous support from members, donors and America250 underwriters, including:
William T. Kemper Foundation – Commerce Bank, Trustee
Mary Kay and Brad Speaks
Missouri Humanities and the Missouri Humanities Trust Fund
JE Dunn Construction
Mary and R. James Stilley, Jr.
Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank, Trustee
Your contribution is a gift to America’s future.