Created by the International Spy Museum, Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America dramatically illustrates the challenge of securing our nation without compromising the civil liberties upon which it was founded. Through artifacts, multimedia elements and interactive exhibits, visitors will uncover stories of espionage, treason and deception in the United States from 1776 to today. Discover little-known accounts of foreign agents, militias and radicals, and learn how responses to domestic attacks have driven counterintelligence measures that continue to affect our everyday lives.
Highlights
These stories will be supported by historic photographs, themed environments, interactive displays, artifacts, and video. Highlights include:
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A timeline that traces over 80 acts of terror that have taken place in the U.S. from 1776 to today, including the Revolutionary War plot to kidnap George Washington, the events of Bloody Kansas prior to the Civil War, John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry, 1960s church bombings in the South, and the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
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APL Badge and ID Card (1917) carried by Operatives of the American Protective League (APL) who spied on their fellow Americans on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department during World War I.
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Anarchist Globe Bomb (replica, c. 1886) presented as evidence in the trial of the men tried in connection with the Chicago Haymarket riot.
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Ritual Klan Red Robe (c. 1965) worn by the Klan “Kladd,” the elected Klan officer who presided over the secret rituals and ceremonies of the Ku Klux Klan.
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Klan “Business Cards” that served as ominous warnings to innocent Americans that their every move was being watched.
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Weather Underground Video Presentation featuring an exclusive interview with ex-Weather Underground member Bernadine Dohrn.
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Fragments of the Planes that hit the World Trade Center (2001) recovered after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and used as evidence by the FBI in their ensuing investigation.
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Visitor Polling Station, a unique computer interactive that allows visitors to express their opinions on questions raised in the exhibition about how the nation has responded to the historical events presented. Poll questions were developed in consultation with The Gallup Organization. Visitors also can see how Americans responded to similar questions posed by The Gallup Poll throughout history.
One section of this exhibition contains graphic images of historical events. Adults with young children should exercise discretion.