America250: Evolving Memory Materials

These are materials from the collections of the State library of Pennsylvania digitized as part of the State Library's contribution to the America250 celebration. Most of the materials are newly-digitized items, now freely available to the public for the first time. Visit the individual America250 theme pages on this site to view all utilized digitized materials, both newly-digitized by the State Library of Pennsylvania and other materials held by the State Library of Pennsylvania but already freely-available.

Books highlight the manner in which real people can become mythologized, becoming both more and less than the humans they were, as the stories about them overtake their actual lives. Other materials show how previous generations celebrated anniversaries like the one we are celebrating now, and how they looked back at their past.