About The Promise of Liberty
Our imperative
We the People—who comprise the American Tapestry—all deserve an equal claim to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we all must work together in order to create a more perfect Union.
E Pluribus Unum is more than a motto that lives only on our money. Out of Many, One enshrines America’s unique value proposition, the greatest secret to our success.
The best lesson history can teach us is of the strength we have gained from the contributions of people of all abilities, castes, classes, colors, creeds, genders, places, races, religions, sexes and walks of life.
We still have work to do. Rather than dismissing incomplete progress or focusing on failures, we actually do have the power to learn from and correct our and prior generations mistakes.
At other fraught moments, Americans have—and can again—overcome tribalism and political differences with principled compromises that coalesce around shared interests and values.
Democracy remains the best technology ever devised to apply knowledge to solve society’s problems.
To foster healthy political discourse and empower Americans to benefit from fulfilling and sharing The Promise of Liberty, we aim to inspire visitors—and influencers in all spheres—to wrestle with these three questions:
Why Do Democracy?
How Do You Do Democracy?
What Happens When We All Do Democracy?
Our Goals
Educate about America’s successes, failures, aspirations, and possibilities.
Empower new generations to understand the rights and responsibilities of civic participation.
Encourage all Americans to feel that their abilities and contributions can make a difference.
Inspire current and future citizens to construct a better democracy and a stronger civil society with their own transformative solutions for today’s challenges
The Exhibit aims to inspire a sense of unity and pride that cuts across political divides, while encouraging gratitude for the liberties we have and igniting a collective determination to defend and expand upon the liberties promised 250 years ago.
Pillar I: Experiential
The Promise of Liberty Exhibit provides immersive and engaging storytelling.
Augmented reality, holography, projection mapping, and other revolutionary technologies paired with creative interpretation and educational engagement will allow visitors to interact with and experience the struggle and humanity that brought us to where we are now—and light a path to where we need to be.
Pillar II: Authentic
The Promise of Liberty Collection features the words that created, and continue to create, the United States of America.
Original historic documents illustrate the path of a nation that was designed to be a perpetual work in progress. These documents capture the alchemy of visionary ideas that laid the foundation for an American Tapestry of inclusion, far ahead of anything they could imagine from their own time and experience.
Pillar III: Engaging Outreach
The Promise of Liberty Lab provides tools for the public to advance democracy and address current challenges.
In-person and online visitors can experiment with advanced digital tools designed to facilitate discussions, model policy scenarios, and simulate electoral processes.
Seth Kaller, President
Seth Kaller is a leading expert in acquiring, authenticating, and appraising important American documents and artifacts. He works with individuals and institutions to build major collections and coordinate exhibits particularly focusing on what he calls Instruments of Freedom.
He started in the collectibles trade in his family’s rare stamp and coin business. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989, Seth approached Lewis Lehrman and (through Lew) Dick Gilder with the idea of forming an American History collection that would grow in value and be exhibited and preserved.
As exclusive acquisitions agent, Seth spent nearly 20 years building the collection and managing the donation of 65,000 documents to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History on deposit at the New-York Historical Society, a nonprofit organization supporting the study and love of American history. GLIAH’s programs are now used in 32,000 affiliated schools. Their EduHam partnership with Broadway’s HAMILTON went online due to Covid, allowing 400,000 students around the country to participate in 2021.
Seth has acquired for clients the most important Declaration of Independence imprints, U.S. Constitution working drafts and one of Benjamin Franklin’s signed copies, Washington and Jefferson and Adams letters on religion and government, Robert E. Lee’s proposal of surrender, Einstein’s earliest surviving letter and first scientific paper, Clement Moore’s A Visit From St. Nicholas, unique paintings, and rare political and historic artifacts. He has handled most of the Lincoln-signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation, and every Lincoln-signed copy of the 13th Amendment to have come on the market in the last 40 or more years.
Documents Seth has handled have been exhibited at, or acquired by, the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the National Constitution Center, the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the American Revolution, the Atlanta History Center, Federal Hall National Memorial, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Monticello, Harvard, Yale, the University of Virginia, Rice University, the Lincoln Museum, and Presidential Libraries, National Parks sites and other notable institutions.
Seth is a member of the American Antiquarian Society, the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, The Professional Autograph Dealers Association, and the Manuscript Society.
We are pleased to announce the University of Virginia Center for Politics as our initial Lead Educational Partner. Founded in 1998 by Larry J. Sabato, the Center believes politics can make public policy more vibrant and bureaucracies more responsive. Their mission is to educate and instill citizens with an appreciation for the core values of American freedom, justice, equality, civility, and service.