NJ State Archives & State Museum Present New Exhibition Exploring Founding Ideals & their Evolution
The New Jersey State Museum, in partnership with the New Jersey State Archives, is pleased to present a new exhibition celebrating both the State of New Jersey’s and the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Entitled The Power to Change: Revolutionary Stories from the New Jersey State Archives, the exhibition highlights rarely seen federal and state charters, along with other pivotal documents and artifacts, which illuminate the ideas established during the Revolutionary era. Visitors will explore how revolutionary ideals, fought for by our founders, influenced the newly established government and continue to allow for reinterpretation and adaptation today. The exhibition will be on view at the New Jersey State Museum from April 28, 2026, through January 10, 2027. The exhibition, organized by guest curator Claudia Ocello, has been made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Museum Foundation, NJM Insurance Group, and New Jersey Society of Colonial Wars.
Visitors are invited to discover how what happened 250 years ago affected people then and continues to affect us today. The exhibition is divided into several themes for interpretation – Owning Property and Land; Belonging; Patriotism and Loyalty; Laws in Everyday Life; and Information and News – that encourage visitors to reflect and ask themselves questions such as “How is your life affected by the ideals on which the country and state were established? What’s changed? What’s stayed the same?”
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State Dr. Dale G. Caldwell remarked, “The history of our nation is endlessly fascinating and endlessly relevant. When we examine the past 250 years, we can discover important changes in how people envision the relationship between citizens and government. The Power to Change exhibition is both a celebration of American freedoms and an exploration of how citizens’ rights have evolved in New Jersey. It tells the story of progress and setbacks as our state and the nation have adapted to social change and brought about greater equality over the centuries.”
According to Joseph R. Klett, Executive Director, New Jersey State Archives, most of these rarely seen objects are from the State Archives collection. “We are thrilled to share these foundational documents with the public and tell the stories of New Jersey’s evolution from royal colony to democratic state.” Highlights of some of the documents and objects on view include New Jersey’s 1664 “birth certificate” – the Duke of York’s Grant of New Jersey to John, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret; New Jersey’s State Constitution from 1776; the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution; and the Bill of Rights.
New Jersey State Museum Executive Director Margaret M. O’Reilly noted the relevance of this exhibition for all New Jerseyans. “The State Museum has been honored to partner with the State Archives, our sister agency in the New Jersey Department of State, to develop this important and timely exhibition. This examination of the early ideals set to paper by the founders, and how those ideals continue to inform our civic dialogue today, will certainly have resonance for museum visitors.” Notes O’Reilly, “The Archives and Museum are grateful to the State of New Jersey for supporting this exhibition as part of its RevolutionNJ effort, spearheaded by the New Jersey Historical Commission. In addition to the funders, we also acknowledge the exhibition lenders, advisors, and representatives of a number of communities who lent their voices to the project.”
