The Promise of Progress: 25 Places on the Pursuit of Equality
As the United States of America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are reflecting on the ideals that shaped the nation and the ongoing work of realizing them. Among the most enduring is the Declaration of Independence’s promise that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights….” Yet the history of the United States is also the story of how generations of Americans have debated, challenged, expanded, and fought to define what those words mean in practice.
This project explores that story through historic places.
Through a curated collection of sites across the nation, we invite visitors to discover the landscapes where Americans have grappled with questions of equality, citizenship, freedom, justice, and belonging.
From Montpelier to San Francisco’s Chinatown, from the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway to sites of civil rights activism, these are the places where history happened. It is in these spaces where individuals and communities challenged exclusion, and where the promise of equality was extended to more people over time, revealing how the American story has not only been shaped by those founding principles, but also by generations of people striving to make those principles real.
Together, these historic places tell a more complete American story—one that acknowledges both the nation’s aspirations and its contradictions across themes like citizenship and belonging, labor and opportunity, and freedom and safety. By connecting the past to issues that continue to shape civic life today, this project demonstrates the enduring relevance of historic places as spaces for reflection, dialogue, and discovery. These places invite us to consider not only where we have been, but how the ongoing pursuit of equality continues to shape our shared future.
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"We are all co-stewards of our collective history. As we celebrate 250 years as a nation, it is our civic responsibility to learn about and engage with the diverse stories represented here and in other historic places,” said Brent Leggs, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The National Trust is proud to serve as a resource and advocate for the protection of the places where American history happened, ensuring that we can safeguard the truth of our past and build a brighter future together."
