June 26, 2012 - August 26, 2012
The battles, principles, and aftermath of the American Revolution impacted all ages. Kids took part in boycotts, enlisted in the war, proclaimed patriotic themes, and lost family members. After the war, education reform brought school-subject change to girls and boys. But some individual freedoms established by Founding Fathers took a long time to impact children - it wasn’t until 1938 that a national child labor law was passed, and teens weren’t able to vote until 1971. These objects from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, displayed in a small case in the DiMenna Children's History Museum, give a glimpse into how kids were impacted by the American Revolution.
Aritst Unknown, Young ‘76, ca. 1855. Oil on canvas, Gift of James Hazen Hyde, 1949.69