Throughout the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, the National Museum of American History will feature 250 objects that paint a vivid picture of our ongoing efforts to fulfil the ideals our founders enshrined in that document. From the well known to the unexpected, find these objects of independence throughout our museum in Washington, DC—or use this Guide to explore the places and momentous events that transformed these objects into historic treasures.

In 1765, the British Parliament bypassed the authority of colonial assemblies by imposing the Stamp Act—a tax on legal documents and newspapers. Violent protestors demanded no taxation without representation, hanging effigies at today’s Liberty Tree Plaza. Parliament relented. This engraved, leather-clad box celebrates the Colonial victory. However, Parliament asserted its right to continue passing laws for the colonies, leading to ten years of increasing resentment—and ultimately, a revolution.

When Britain stationed troops in Boston in 1768, colonists feared that the king intended to rule by force. Their fears seemed confirmed when, on March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd that had been taunting them, killing five and sparking outrage across the colonies. This print by Paul Revere, immortalizing the “Boston Massacre,” was made in 1832 from the original plate. This is one of many historic sites commemorated on The Freedom Trail walking tour of Boston.

When Parliament awarded the East India Company exclusive rights to the North American tea trade, colonists in Boston and elsewhere expressed their opposition to an imposed monopoly by tossing incoming tea overboard and boycotts. Increasingly, the colonies united to assert their rights. Boston was the first city to destroy East India Company tea, in Dec. 1773. This creamer reminded tea drinkers not to indulge. It’s inscribed “Britons take back your baneful tea/You N’er shall make a slave of me.”

No one knows who fired the first shot in the standoff between British troops and militia on the Green in Lexington on April 19, 1775. But it was heard “round the world.” Colonies formed committees of safety to mobilize and arm militias; King George decreed that the rebellion in the colonies be suppressed. American-made flintlock muskets were often patterned after the British standard-issue “Brown Bess.” This one was assembled in MA, prior to the French and Indian War.

Just weeks after the outbreak of fighting at Lexington and Concord, colonial delegates met and resolved to unite troops from the thirteen colonies into a Continental army under the “pay and service” of Congress. On June 15, 1775, they elected George Washington general and commander in chief. Washington assumed leadership of the Continental Army at Cambridge Common and nearby Longfellow House became the headquarters from which he directed the Siege of Boston. He used this camp chest in the field.

Just weeks after the battles at Lexington and Concord, and soon after appointing Washington commander of the army, delegates from all the colonies met as a Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, and authorized the printing of money to finance the fight against Britain. With many expecting the colonies’ quick defeat, the money’s value plummeted and inflation was a major problem for the Americans, especially in the first years of the war.

In the wake of countless statements of rights, appeals to the king, petitions to Parliament, acts of resistance, and the outbreak of fighting at Lexington in 1775, Thomas Paine made a case for independence through this Jan. 1776 Common Sense pamphlet. In plain language that attracted broad readership, he argued that the colonies should break from Britain and establish a nation of the people. It was first printed by Robert Bell, in his print shop near today’s Independence National Historic Park.

Part of a small American fleet, hastily built in the summer of 1776, Gunboat Philadelphia was sunk during the Battle of Valcour Bay. In July 1776, just as the United States declared independence, the British planned to divide and conquer the colonies. In October, moving southward on Lake Champlain, they met and destroyed an American fleet. But the battle forced the British to postpone their invasion until the next year, setting the stage for the American victory at Saratoga.

In the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson put into words the truths that, over the preceding decade, had become self-evident to many—that the colonies would become a new and independent United States governed by the will of a people endowed with “unalienable rights.” Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence on this portable writing desk while staying at the home of Jacob Graff, a property now known as Declaration House.

In the summer and fall of 1776, Washington’s forces lost a series of battles, ceding control of the city to the Brits. In addition to facing fusillades of artillery, volleys of musket fire, and bayonet charges, at least 1/4th of Washington’s army was sick at any one time. Connecticut militiaman Jonathan Pettibone wore this hat during the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought around Green-Wood Cemetery. He died of illness while retreating, in Sept. 1776. Pettibone’s son later wore the hat in battle.

In the fall of 1777, American forces at Saratoga, New York, held their ground and won a stunning victory. With the surrender of British commander John Burgoyne and 5,000 troops, France recognized American independence and openly lent support. The Dutch Republic and Spain contributed, too, transforming the war into an extended conflict the Americans could win. This small unit flag was carried by a mounted cavalry regiment that fought at Saratoga.

The British countered the Franco-American alliance by attempting to control the Southern states, where they believed more locals remained loyal to the crown. The British, American Loyalists, and American Patriots all turned to cavalry units to fight for control of large inland areas. Curved sabers like this one accommodated slashing while riding a horse and were used in the violent raids and fierce battles that tore through the South and frustrated British attempts to fully control the region.

In the fall of 1781, American and French troops, together with the French fleet, trapped and laid siege to British forces at Yorktown, Virginia, in the culminating battle of the Revolution. After eight days of bold assaults and relentless bombardment—greatly enhanced by French cannons that drastically increased Allied firepower—the British surrendered.

Britain agreed to peace and recognized the United States as “free, sovereign, and independent states” in 1783. What had started as a colonial rebellion finished as a year-long negotiation of four separate treaties. These four treaties, between Britain and the United States, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic respectively, redrew boundaries on three continents. These candlesticks lit the table at the signing of the Treaty of Paris at 56 Rue Jacob, where a plaque commemorates the event.