Americans’ freedom story revealed in 50 documents

    The Historical Society of Pennsylvania holds more than 21 million documents and items. It was Rachel Moloshok’s job to select 50 of them.

    Moloshok was compiling no less than a history of how Americans have defined freedom and how they’ve fought for it.

    After two years of effort, the fruits of her labor can be seen on a new interactive website that charts the evolution of what many Americans take for granted.

    It’s a 350-year-old tale of struggle and conflict told through original documents both famous and obscure, from an early draft of the Articles of Confederation to a suffragette’s letter home.

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    The historical society hopes its interactive Preserving American Freedom website will be used in the classroom.

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