PHILADELPHIA, PA.- America’s path to independence, the people who walked it, and Philadelphia’s role in securing it, all went on to both directly and indirectly inform the subsequent independence movements of many nations around the world. One compelling example of the influence of the United States on an independence movement abroad will be encapsulated by an international loan object from Chile set for display at the Museum of the American Revolution for the full run of The Declaration’s Journey, a special exhibition on view from Oct. 18, 2025 through Jan. 3, 2027 and presented by Griffin Catalyst.

On loan from the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile (National Library of Chile), the Museum will display the printing press used to launch Chile’s first newspaper, the Aurora de Chile (“dawn of Chile”), which focused on politics and political ideology and spurred on Chilean independence from Spain in the early 19th century. In 1811, American shipper Mathew Hoevel arrived in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso with supplies for independence fighters, American printers, and this printing press. It had been shipped from New York by American supporters, including John R. Livingston, a merchant and the younger brother of Robert R. Livingston, a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Camilo Henríquez – a priest, author, and politician – became the first editor of the Aurora de Chile, and published its first issue on Feb. 13, 1812, using this press. The paper went on to republish speeches by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other American Revolutionaries, as well as introduce readers to Enlightenment philosophies and the latest news from the United States.

Henriquez’s team of printers from the United States included Samuel Burr Johnston, William H. Burbidge, and Simon Garrison. The Declaration’s Journey will also include a compilation of published letters written by Johnston, on loan from the American Antiquarian Society, as well as a July 9, 1812, issue of the Aurora de Chile, on loan from the collections of the John Carter Brown Library. This issue of the paper recorded how the Fourth of July was celebrated in Santiago, Chile. At the celebration, Chileans hung up American flags and bunting, and circulated an eight-line patriotic poem likely printed on the same printing press.

The Declaration’s Journey will invite visitors to delve into this story and those of nearly 20 countries whose independence movements were inspired by the words of our nation’s founding document. With its planned display in The Declaration’s Journey, the printing press will return to the United States for the first time since it was sent to Chile in 1811. Bringing this printing press to Philadelphia will be the first time the Museum of the American Revolution has borrowed and displayed an artifact from a South American nation.

“The printing press for the Aurora de Chile is a treasure from the ‘Age of Revolutions,’” said Matthew Skic, the Museum’s Director of Collections and Exhibitions. “It was a tool used to communicate revolutionary ideas that drew inspiration from the United States Declaration of Independence. Today, the press symbolizes Chile’s fight for its sovereignty.”

“The Aurora de Chile printing press is not only a historical artifact, but also a testament to how ideas of freedom crossed borders and shaped our republics,” said Nélida Pozo, Chile’s Director of the National Cultural Heritage Service. “For Chile, the fact that this object is traveling to Philadelphia to engage in dialogue with the history of U.S. independence is a gesture of brotherhood between peoples who shared the same aspirations for sovereignty and justice. As the National Cultural Heritage Service, we deeply value this opportunity for international cooperation, which reaffirms that heritage does not belong to just one country, but to the living memory of humanity."

The Declaration’s Journey will bring more than 120 artifacts from 50 private and institutional lenders together for visitors to experience and understand the Declaration’s ongoing relevance and impact on the world. These objects, documents, and works of art, as well as audio, video, and tactile elements, will examine how national and international leaders like Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Vicente Guerrero, the Marquis de Lafayette, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, and Harvey Milk used the Declaration as a model to change the world. To inspire current and future generations to continue to heed, contemplate, and challenge the Declaration’s words and ideals, The Declaration’s Journey will also include in-gallery engagement tactics and accessibility offerings for visitors.

These will include:

• An interactive “talk-back wall” where visitors can reflect upon the history and ongoing relevance of the Declaration of Independence by leaving comment cards.

• In-gallery surveys to vote on questions inspired by the exhibition content, including “Was the Declaration written for the United States or for the world?” and “Does a revolution need a declaration?”

• A scavenger hunt and a try-on clothing station for young visitors, as well as a family guide with the ability to stamp a passport at various stations along the Declaration’s journey.

• A tactile book containing select Braille excerpts from documents featured in the exhibition, including the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments. This will be available alongside raised graphics of portraits of the documents’ authors, including Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, and Harvey Milk. This resource is being created in collaboration with Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

• Also, in partnership with Clovernook and the Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University, a tactile composing stick interactive will be available on a mounted rail to help guests investigate the functionality of the Aurora de Chile printing press, and learn how printers set metal type before placing them into the press.

• American Sign Language versions of the exhibitions two feature films will be available for in-gallery access. American Sign Language tours of the exhibition will also be available for booking two weeks in advance via the Museum’s website.

• An audio tour for the exhibition (with transcriptions) will be available in English, Spanish, and additional languages for $5 per unit ($3 for Members).

• For students and teachers, virtual distance learning programs and teacher professional development opportunities focusing on the exhibition content, as well as a teacher resource guide, will be available.