BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: American Stories

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: American Stories:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Description of Pictures: Take a journey through time and discover both well-known and less-familiar stories about the American experience in the Museum’s newest signature exhibition: American Stories. In 5,300 square feet, American Stories features an engaging mix of artifacts from the Museum’s vast holdings to tell stories about the country’s history. Through more than 100 objects, visitors can follow a chronology that spans the Pilgrims’ 1620 arrival in Plymouth, Massachusetts, through the 2008 presidential election.

American Stories highlights the ways in which objects and stories can reinforce and challenge our understanding of history and help define our personal and national identities. The exhibition examines the manner in which culture, politics, economics, science, technology, and the peopling of the United States have shaped the country over the decades. Dedicated spaces throughout will regularly feature new acquisitions to give a more inclusive representation of the experiences of all Americans.

Highlights include the following objects:
a fragment of Plymouth Rock
a section of the first transatlantic telegraph cable
a sunstone capital from the Latter-day Saints temple at Nauvoo, Illinois
the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz
baseballs used by Babe Ruth and Sam Streeter
a Kermit the Frog puppet
clothing artifacts, including a “quinceañera” gown worn for a 15th-birthday celebration
Apolo Ohno’s speed skates from the 2002 Winter Olympics

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIAHST_120621_011.JPG: American Stories: Objects and stories both reinforce and challenge our understanding of American history and help define our personal and cultural identities. Join us on a journey through time to discover what we can learn through artifacts. This exhibition is organized by chronological eras and shaped, in part, by our collections. We will showcase new acquisitions in the gallery as the Museum continues to collect objects that tell the stories of all Americans.
2. SIAHST_120621_019.JPG: Dorothy's ruby slippers 1938 from the 1939 MGM The Wizard of Oz In the modern fairy tale The Wizard of Oz, a brave American girl relies on ingenuity, courage, and imagination to make her way home from a faraway land. Released near the end of the Great Depression and just a month before Germany's invasion of Poland sparked World War II, the film's message of friendship and triumph over evildoers resonated with millions of viewers.
3. SIAHST_120621_024.JPG: Forming a New Nation: 1776 to 1801: As early as the 1600s, America's diverse populations -- native peoples, Europeans, and Africans -- interacted to create a hybrid new world. European colonists united in 1776 to separate from England, winning a revolution based on the principles of representative government, freedom and expression, and equality. Though often argued over, these rights have been expanded through the centuries to all Americans, and continue to guide us today. The objects in this first section help tell stories about the formation of the United States, from the colonial period to the Revolutionary War and its immediate aftermath.
4. SIAHST_120621_027.JPG: Eliza Pinckney's dress 1750–80 made in England from silk she cultivated in South Carolina Most women could not choose independent careers or run for political office in the 1700s, but they could help shape public life through family and personal relationships. From a young age, Eliza Pinckney managed her family's South Carolina plantations, established indigo as a marketable crop in the colony, and later raised two sons who became important officers in the Revolutionary War and political leaders afterward.
5. SIAHST_120621_035.JPG: Benjamin Franklin's walking stick about 1780 given to Franklin while he served as an American diplomat in France Benjamin Franklin's international reputation as an inventor and philosopher served him well as an American ambassador in Europe. He was treated as a celebrity in France, and considered the personification of America's more natural state. Although Franklin referred to his cane as decorated with a gold cap of liberty, it more closely resembles Franklin's own fur cap.
6. SIAHST_120621_045.JPG: Continental Congress sword presented to Colonel Return J. Meigs commissioned 1777 made by C. Liger, Paris The Continental Congress first met in 1774 to address grievances against Britain. By the second meeting, starting in May 1775, it shouldered the burdens and bureaucracy of war. One of many resolutions it passed was awarding ten military heroes with elegant presentation swords. Decorated with symbols of liberty and military might, they symbolized the ambitious goals of revolutionary America.
7. SIAHST_120621_057.JPG: Wampum probably 1700s beads made from shells American Indians prized wampum for its trade value and as a ritual gift, probably long before they began trading fur pelts to Europeans for the shell-beads in the 1500s. Though Europeans initially viewed wampum as a low-cost means of obtaining furs, by the 1630s colonists had come to accept it as legal tender, evidence of the complex web of interactions in the new world.
8. SIAHST_120621_065.JPG: Fragment of Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts said to be where the Pilgrims landed in 1620 Plymouth Rock retains a hold in popular memory as the Pilgrims' stepping-stone in the new world, although it is not mentioned in accounts of their landing until the 1700s. The story of Plymouth Rock often obscures the history of earlier European and British settlements, such as Jamestown, Virginia, as well as the arrival of enslaved Africans as early as 1619.
9. SIAHST_120621_074.JPG: 1845 reproduction of Eli Whitney's cotton gin patent model patent issued 1794 In Whitney's day, inventors sent paperwork, a model, and $30 to the secretary of state (then Thomas Jefferson) in order to obtain a patent. After a fire destroyed the Patent Office and its contents in 1836, officials re-created some of the records and models. This model may have been based on existing gins as well as on other models made by Whitney.
10. SIAHST_120621_082.JPG: Altar screen finial 1775–99 From Our Lady of Guadalupe mission church, New Mexico In 1629 the Spanish Catholic Church began building missions in the Zuni area of northern New Spain (now western New Mexico), in part to convert the native people. Although they resisted and revolted, by the 1700s many Zuni developed an uneasy peace with Spanish rule and fashioned a Catholicism that blended Native American and European traditions.
11. SIAHST_120621_087.JPG: Hornbook 1700s probably made in England Americans have long believed that democracy depends on a literate citizenry. As early as 1642, Massachusetts law mandated that children be taught to read and write to ensure that they could study the Bible and understand the laws of the land. Even in the absence of organized education, colonists learned how to read from devices such as this hornbook.
12. SIAHST_120621_095.JPG: Census pitcher about 1790 made in England This pitcher commemorates the first official population census of the United States, held in August 1790. Census takers counted almost four million people -- men and women, white and black, and free and enslaved -- in order to levy taxes and apportion House of Representative seats. The census excluded American Indians, who were considered a sovereign people. Earthenware pitchers such as this were made by British potteries for the US market and often featured American historical figures and events.
13. SIAHST_120621_109.JPG: Census pitcher about 1790 made in England This pitcher commemorates the first official population census of the United States, held in August 1790. Census takers counted almost four million people -- men and women, white and black, and free and enslaved -- in order to levy taxes and apportion House of Representative seats. The census excluded American Indians, who were considered a sovereign people.
14. SIAHST_120621_120.JPG: 1820 reprint of Paul Revere's The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street original 1770 Paul Revere sold color prints depicting the Boston Massacre a mere three weeks after the event, remarkably quickly for that time. The circulation of images of the incident, in which British troops killed five civilians and wounded six, helped create anti-English sentiment among the colonists. One of the victims, a man of black and Indian heritage named Crispus Attucks, is often called the first martyr of the American Revolution.
15. SIAHST_120621_124.JPG: Joseph Priestley's chemical flask about 1800 used in Pennsylvania Joseph Priestley, a chemist and Protestant minister, first published on the discovery of oxygen in 1775. His opposition to the English church and his sympathy for the French Revolution forced him to leave Britain for America in 1794, where he set up a home and laboratory in Pennsylvania.
16. SIAHST_120621_130.JPG: Joseph Ellicott's tall case clock completed 1769 made in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Few specialized clockmakers existed in America before the Revolution. Joseph Ellicott was working as a mill operator when he designed and built this extraordinary clock. In addition to telling time, it shows the phases of the moon and the motions of the sun, moon, and planets, and it plays twenty-four tunes.
17. SIAHST_120621_147.JPG: Expansion and Reform: 1801-1870: Westward migration, technological advances, and rapid economic development pushed the country onward even as they threatened to break it apart. The nation expanded its borders into territory held by American Indians, France, and Mexico, claiming millions of acres and thousands of people as part of the United States. Urbanization and industrialization led to new social challenges while slavery and sectional politics drove the country to civil war. The objects in this section of the exhibition convey stories about the War of 1812, the growth of the nation, innovation, and the Civil War.
18. SIAHST_120621_151.JPG: Slave ship manifest from the schooner Lafayette 1833 listing a group of eighty-three enslaved people shipped from Alexandria, Virginia The United States ended the legal importation of slaves in 1808, but enslaved blacks continued to be bought and sold within the country, making the internal slave trade a lucrative business. Historians estimate that as many as one million enslaved people were moved from the eastern United States to the Deep South between 1810 and 1861.
19. SIAHST_120621_158.JPG: Anti-slavery pot holder mid-1800s made by hand in the United States The American abolitionist movement grew out of the 1830s wave of religious revivalism. Women played a prominent role, giving lectures, distributing pamphlets, and raising money through fund-raising fairs with the sale of handmade crafts such as this pot holder. One of the largest fairs, held in Boston, raised over $65,000 for the cause during its twenty-three-year run.
20. SIAHST_120621_165.JPG: Stoneware jar 1862 made by David Drake, Edgefield, South Carolina Over three million enslaved blacks labored in the South by the 1800s. The majority were agricultural laborers, but a substantial number worked in craft trades as skilled artisans, providing their owners with necessary goods and services to use or to sell. Potter David Drake made ceramic storage vessels at his owner's plantation pottery for over thirty years.
21. SIAHST_120621_177.JPG: The poem inscribed in this glazed stoneware jar reads "I made this jar all of cross / If you don't repent, you will be lost" and is signed "Dave." A slave potter in South Carolina who signed and dated his work made a defiant proclamation of his education in a state that outlawed literacy among slaves.
22. SIAHST_120621_183.JPG: Gold sovereign part of James Smithson's 1838 bequest Born the illegitimate son of an English duke, James Smithson left his fortune to the United States to found an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Although he never visited the United States, Smithson undoubtedly appreciated what the young democracy represented -- the freedom for individuals to succeed based on accomplishments rather than inherited titles.
23. SIAHST_120621_189.JPG: Fairmount Fire Company volunteer firefighting outfit early 1800s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania As American cities grew and industrialized in the late 1700s and 1800s, the risk of deadly fires increased. Volunteer fire departments formed in response, often developing distinctive cultures based on common ethnic heritage, and emphasizing bravery, masculinity, and citizenship. By the 1860s, cities began to develop professional departments and the volunteers' status as popular heroes was on the wane.
24. SIAHST_120621_200.JPG: Presentation saddle about 1866 made in Mexico and given to General Philip H. Sheridan The United States gained hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. In 1866, General Philip Sheridan armed Mexican nationalists led by Benito Juárez, and headed a 50,000-man army along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to pressure France to end its occupation of Mexico. That same year, a Mexican friend gave Sheridan this elaborate saddle with embossed silver medallions.
25. SIAHST_120621_206.JPG: Pin-making machine patent model 1841 patented by John Howe In the early 1800s, Americans increasingly turned their attention to mechanizing labor-intensive tasks. The ensuing Industrial Revolution changed the face of transportation, manufacturing, trade, and even the landscape as Americans established mills and factories. One of John Howe's machines could produce over 20,000 pins a day, compared to the twenty pins that one man could make by hand.
26. SIAHST_120621_211.JPG: Ether inhaler about 1846 developed by William T. G. Morton As physicians became increasingly knowledgeable about anatomy and surgical procedures in the 1800s, the need for a safe and effective anesthesia became more pressing. In 1846, Dr. William Morton successfully demonstrated that inhaling sulfuric ether would put a patient into a deep sleep. Quickly adopted, the procedure changed the nature of surgery and medical care.
27. SIAHST_120621_220.JPG: Transatlantic telegraph cable souvenir 1858 made and sold by Tiffany & Co., New York Long before the internet, a network of undersea telegraph cables allowed almost-instantaneous communication around the world. Cyrus Field's Atlantic Telegraph Company completed the first transatlantic cable in 1858, then sold twenty miles of surplus cable to Tiffany & Co. to make souvenirs. Although this first cable failed, within twenty years over 100,000 miles had been laid beneath the seas.
28. SIAHST_120621_228.JPG: Howard watch No. 1 1852 made by E. Howard & Company, Boston The advent of the Industrial Revolution meant that more people worked in shops and factories. This changed the long-established rhythms of daily life and more people had a greater need to know the time. To tap into this market, Edward Howard's firm developed the first machine-made watches.
29. SIAHST_120621_235.JPG: Part of a telegraph patent model 1846 Samuel F. B. Morse's modification for a telegraph receiver Along with the spread of transportation networks, the invention and commercial application of the telegraph helped stimulate economic growth in the United States by connecting far-flung markets. Samuel Morse opened the first telegraph line in 1844. Less than a decade later telegraph wires crisscrossed the country, allowing business to be conducted more quickly and profitably.
30. SIAHST_120621_245.JPG: John Brown pike 1856 used in the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia In the 1850s, responding to pressure from southern slaveholding states, Congress passed a number of laws upholding the rights of slave owners. Abolitionist John Brown believed slavery could only end through violence; he purchased 1,000 pikes to arm a slave revolt. His raid on Harpers Ferry failed to secure the U.S. arsenal, but did energize the abolitionist movement. Joseph Emerson Brown pike 1860s one of 10,000 purchased to arm Georgia's militia until guns could be obtained The struggle over the balance of power between the federal government and individual states had been a concern since the formation of the nation and was a major issue in driving the country to civil war. As governor of Georgia, Joseph Brown supported seceding from the Union, which he believed had grown too powerful.
31. SIAHST_120621_253.JPG: United States Colored Troops medal 1864 commissioned by General Benjamin Butler to honor black troops under his command Less than a year after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 promised freedom to Confederate slaves, tens of thousands enrolled in black military regiments. By war's end, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors fought for the North. Usually under white leadership, black troops fought in thirty-nine battles; 37,000 died in service. The Butler medal was the only one created for a black unit.
32. SIAHST_120621_264.JPG: Bronze cast of Abraham Lincoln's life mask 1886 made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens after Leonard Volk's 1860 original As the United States expanded westward, Americans debated and fought over the issue of allowing slavery in the new lands. Abraham Lincoln rose to national prominence after delivering a speech at the Cooper Union in February 1860 arguing against the extension of slavery. Following his election that year, seven southern states, fearing that he was anti-slavery, seceded from the Union.
33. SIAHST_120621_268.JPG: Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch and fob about 1850 engraved in 1861 by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, Washington, D.C. The Confederacy's April 1861 attack on federal property -- Fort Sumter, South Carolina -- was the opening volley of four years of civil war. Lincoln led the United States through its greatest crisis, expanding the power of the presidency and coming to the conclusion that slavery had to be abolished. Northern victory preserved the Union and ended slavery, but deferred the issue of racial justice.
34. SIAHST_120621_277.JPG: Gold rush assayers' ingots 1850 issued by State Assay Office of California The 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill drew hundreds of thousands of hopeful miners from around the world to California and helped shape the development of the western United States. As yields from the mines declined, Americans learned that the seemingly limitless natural resources of the nation were, in fact, finite.
35. SIAHST_120621_283.JPG: Fiji Islands tobacco 1838–42 collected by the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition Although much of the United States remained uncharted, the young republic sought to expand its economic and intellectual horizons through a government-sponsored exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Like the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Northwest thirty-five years earlier, the South Seas exploration team mapped unknown lands, collected scientific data, and sought opportunities for trade.
36. SIAHST_120621_293.JPG: Plate with views of the Erie Canal 1819–46 made by Enoch Wood and Sons, Staffordshire, England The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 revolutionized transportation in America, and helped pave the way for economic and westward expansion. The 364-mile waterway between Albany and Buffalo, New York, was built largely through unsettled territory, leading to rapid population growth along its route and linking the urbanized areas of the East with the developing West.
37. SIAHST_120621_299.JPG: Silver peace medal 1801 issued under President Thomas Jefferson and given to an Osage chieftain The 1803 Louisiana Purchase opened the area west of the Mississippi to U.S. settlement, causing conflict with many of the Indian tribes living there. In order to obtain land and facilitate trade, Thomas Jefferson pursued treaties and encouraged tribes to give up their traditional ways of life. Medals such as this were often presented to native chiefs as diplomatic gifts.
38. SIAHST_120621_308.JPG: Surveyor's vernier compass 1846–54 made by Levi Colton, New York City As Americans moved westward they claimed large tracts of land for settlement, agriculture, and the raw materials needed to supply the Industrial Revolution. In order to establish property boundaries, American surveyors used compasses such as this. Sturdily built and easy to repair, it adjusted for variations in the north magnetic pole, making it ideal for the wide-open spaces of the United States.
39. SIAHST_120621_318.JPG: Sunstone capital about 1846 from the temple of the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon in 1830, during a great Christian revivalist movement. Persecuted from the beginning, the Latter-day Saints left New York State and went west in search of sanctuary. Nauvoo was just one step along the way of a migration toward what became Salt Lake City, Utah; it drew tens of thousands of converts from the eastern United States and many European countries.
40. SIAHST_120621_329.JPG: Plate commemorating the Latter-day Saints temple in Nauvoo, Illinois 1844–46 made by Joseph Twigg's Newhill Pottery, England Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded the town of Nauvoo in 1839 and finished construction of their elaborate temple in 1846. Initially welcomed by the Illinois General Assembly, growing anti-Mormonism and the 1844 murder of leader Joseph Smith drove them to abandon the town and head west.
41. SIAHST_120621_336.JPG: Stock ticker about 1900 made by the Western Union Telegraph Company The U.S. economy grew rapidly after the Civil War, fueled by an astounding rise in wealth, wages, production, and corporate mergers, along with limited government regulation. The volume of stocks traded rose sharply with corporations' need for investment capital and the development of new technologies. The 1867 invention of the stock ticker, transmitting up-to-the-minute share prices over telegraph lines, modernized the stock exchange.
42. SIAHST_120621_346.JPG: Tinfoil phonograph 1878 invented by Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Edison helped usher in an age of organized research in support of commerce and industry that reshaped American life. Vowing to turn out inventions on a regular basis, Edison and his team of scientists, engineers, draftsmen, and laborers developed or improved over 1,000 patents, from huge electric generators to this early phonograph.
43. SIAHST_120621_353.JPG: Incandescent lamp about 1891 made by Edison General Electric Company Many inventions in the late 1880s helped speed urban growth, allowing for taller buildings, more efficient factories, and better transportation. One of the most dramatic improvements occurred in artificial lighting. Thomas Edison's development of an electric lamp that did not rely on open flames made lighting more practical for factories, offices, and homes, and transformed city life.
44. SIAHST_120621_362.JPG: Alexander Graham Bell's big box telephone 1876 one of the first commercially available telephones Telegraph lines could carry only one coded message per wire at a time, which became a hindrance as the volume of communication increased. To overcome this problem, Alexander Bell used his knowledge of acoustics to devise a method of sending multiple tonal messages over a wire. This led to the telephone, and a communication revolution that transformed business and daily life.
45. SIAHST_120621_368.JPG: Industrial Development: 1870-1900: After the Civil War, the United States rapidly transformed into an industrial, urbanized nation. Technological innovation, economic growth, development of large-scale agriculture, and the expansion of the federal government characterized the era, as did the social tensions brought about by immigration, financial turmoil, federal Indian policy, and increasing demands for rights by workers, women, and minorities. This group of objects highlights innovation and industrialization in the late 1800s, and the benefits as well as detriments of becoming an economic and industrial power.
46. SIAHST_120621_371.JPG: Singer sewing machine patent model 1889 factory machine for making buttonholes American goods were increasingly made in factories as companies adopted large-scale, standardized production methods in the late 1800s. Specialized machines took the place of manual tasks -- such as sewing buttonholes for ready-made clothing -- speeding up the work to meet the growing demands of a nation of consumers. The advent of more simply constructed women's apparel in the 1890s gave a further boost to the clothing industry.
47. SIAHST_120621_384.JPG: John Brown Lennon's delegate badge 1893 from the Journeymen Tailors' Union convention Rapid industrial development in the late 1800s changed where and how Americans worked. By 1900, U.S. factories employed 4.5 million people, most working long hours for low wages in often unhealthful conditions. Workers organized local and national unions in response, leading to an intense period of political activity, strikes, and sometimes violent clashes in the fight for labor rights.
48. SIAHST_120621_390.JPG: Sholes & Glidden typewriter 1873 made by E. Remington & Sons The development of corporations after the Civil War led to the creation of multiple layers of office management. The vast demand for professional managers and clerical staff encouraged education and the growth of the middle class. The introduction of the typewriter gave women the opportunity to enter the corporate workplace.
49. SIAHST_120621_401.JPG: Video recorder used September 11, 2001 In New York to work on a documentary film about local firefighters, Jules Naudet used this video recorder to capture the only known footage of the first plane hitting the north tower of the World Trade Center and, later, the activity in the firefighters' command center inside the lobby of the building.
50. SIAHST_120621_411.JPG: Child's dress 1876 made from fabric purchased at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition Celebrating innovations in industry and the arts, the international Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the American Revolution, embodied Americans' confidence in the future, and revealed the country's potential to the rest of the world. Among the crowds attending the centennial was Henry Fletcher, who purchased the patriotic fabric his wife used to make this dress for their first child, born in 1876.
51. SIAHST_120621_417.JPG: Creeping baby doll 1870s patented by Robert J. Clay In the 1870s, changing notions of childhood meant that Anglo American parents had only recently accepted crawling, or creeping, as a natural stage in a baby's development rather than a bad habit. Prior to this, generations of American children had been prevented from crawling on all fours, an activity then associated with animals and the insane.
52. SIAHST_120621_432.JPG: Statue late 1800s made by the Union Porcelain Works, Greenpoint, New York In the late 1800s, black Americans gained citizenship and the vote, while immigrants from Europe and Asia came to the country in record numbers. As these minorities strove for economic prosperity and social justice, some white Americans reacted to the rapidly changing social order with apprehension and hostility. The relationship of the three figures in this statue captures this tension.
53. SIAHST_120621_445.JPG: Print 1870s black politicians during Reconstruction With the end of the Civil War, hard-won constitutional amendments abolished slavery and established citizenship and voting rights for black Americans. But during and after Reconstruction, blacks were often treated as second-class citizens. Southern states continued to restrict black voting, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan led to decades of violence.
54. SIAHST_120621_453.JPG: Silver presentation cup about 1900 presented to Susan B. Anthony on her eightieth birthday Although American women fought for black suffrage, they were unable to vote in federal elections themselves until 1920. As suffragists moved out of the parlor and into the streets, they challenged the notion that a woman's place was solely in the home. Susan B. Anthony shocked the nation when she was jailed in 1872 for illegally trying to vote.
55. SIAHST_120621_461.JPG: Winchester rifle 1881 captured from Sioux when Chief Low Dog surrendered in Montana Territory Through most of the 1800s, Americans viewed the nation's westward expansion as a symbol of its providence as a land of wealth and progress. But Indian tribes resisted the encroachment of settlers in their territories, setting off decades of violence. The federal government gradually pushed the tribes to more isolated areas, offering U.S. citizenship, but few opportunities, to those who agreed to accept allotments of land on reservations.
56. SIAHST_120621_473.JPG: Baseball 1929 signed by Babe Ruth As Americans gained more leisure time and disposable income in the early 1900s, the popularity of spectator sports boomed. In the 1920s, professional sports became a big business and successful athletes became national celebrities. Babe Ruth, one of America's greatest sports heroes, helped turn baseball into the popular, power game it is today.
57. SIAHST_120621_480.JPG: Baseball about 1930 used by Negro League pitcher Sam Streeter Segregation and racial violence throughout the United States in the early 1900s led black Americans to create separate institutions. Prohibited from playing on white baseball teams, black players formed their own teams and leagues. Negro League games drew millions of fans until Jackie Robinson integrated the National League in 1947.
58. SIAHST_120621_486.JPG: Trophy awarded to Gertrude Ederle 1926 Olympic medalist and the first woman to swim the English Channel In the 1920s, women not only gained the right to vote, they increasingly competed in amateur and professional sports. In the Olympics and other contests, women excelled in individual sports such as golf, tennis, and swimming, proving they could be great athletes at a time when some still argued that competitive sports put too much strain on women's health and their role as nurturing caregivers.
59. SIAHST_120621_495.JPG: Railroad spike 1869 Commemorative of the final spike that completed the transcontinental railroad Railroads were the basis of the nation's industrial economy in the late 1800s, creating new markets, carrying billions of tons of freight to every corner of the country, and opening up the West for development. Thanks in part to the railroad providing access to new land for farming, agricultural production doubled in the 1870s, which in turn increased railroad traffic.
60. SIAHST_120621_505.JPG: Century vase 1876 made by Union Porcelain Works, Greenpoint, New York The American Industrial Revolution transformed the nation from a scattering of isolated communities into an economic and industrial giant, in part due to the country's wealth of natural resources. Forests, minerals, waterways, and huge tracts of arable land for farming and ranching provided the raw materials that fueled growth and development, often at the expense of the environment. This vase celebrates 100 years of American progress and depicts now-vanished icons of the American landscape such as bison, a wooden reaper, and a steamship.
61. SIAHST_120621_539.JPG: Harvester and self-raking reaper patent model 1877 patented by William Whiteley Increasingly mechanized farming meant fewer laborers were needed on farms, releasing them to work in urban industrial jobs. As the cities grew, demand increased for agricultural goods in turn. Inventors looked for new ways for farming to be more efficient and profitable, including making improvements to existing technology such as the mechanical reaper first developed by Cyrus McCormick in 1834.
62. SIAHST_120621_553.JPG: New Deal cane about 1932 from Franklin Roosevelt's presidential campaign Franklin Roosevelt won his first presidential election promising his "New Deal" would lift the country out of the Great Depression. The ensuing legislation and relief measures created the most dramatic peacetime expansion of government in U.S. history and directly benefited many. But economic recovery was slow and millions remained out of work through the 1930s.
63. SIAHST_120621_556.JPG: CBS microphone 1930s used by Franklin Roosevelt for his radio Fireside Chats In his twelve years as president, Franklin Roosevelt led the country through two major crises: the Great Depression and World War II. He used the radio to appeal directly to the public to boost morale, clarify complicated concepts and events, and build public support for government, ushering in a modern approach to media outreach.
64. SIAHST_120621_567.JPG: Camilla Gottlieb's purse with identification and immigration paperwork 1930s–40s carried by a European émigré to the United States in 1946 Anti-immigration laws enacted in the 1920s limited the number of European refugees trying to enter the United States to escape Nazi persecution in the 1930s and 1940s. Austrian Jews Camilla and Hermann Gottlieb sent their daughter to the United States before World War II but were themselves unable to enter at that time. They were sent to Theresienstadt, a Nazi concentration camp, where Hermann died in 1943.
65. SIAHST_120621_575.JPG: Plutonium-239 1941 first sample in which nuclear fission was detected In 1940, scientists working at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered plutonium. Further testing revealed that it was fissionable, meaning it could produce nuclear energy. As part of the massive government sponsorship of science to support the war effort, Manhattan Project physicists tested the first nuclear bomb in July 1945.
66. SIAHST_120621_584.JPG: World War II service medals 1942–47 awarded for military service during World War II In 1941, the United States entered the ongoing conflict as one of the most powerful militaries in the world. By war's end, more than sixteen million American men and women had served, either as fighting forces or support troops. These medals were awarded based on where a soldier served, no matter which branch of the military.
67. SIAHST_120621_592.JPG: War ration book 1942 issued during World War II World War II had a profound impact on the American home front. Populations shifted as workers migrated toward military-industrial centers, and wartime labor shortages meant more women and minorities were able to enter the workforce. The federal government took on new roles, such as requiring that civilians ration gasoline, food, textiles, and other goods in short supply during the war.
68. SIAHST_120621_599.JPG: Buddha statue 1943 carved by Teruo "Ted" Murata at Poston internment camp, Arizona Americans were proud of their role in fighting against totalitarianism and for democratic ideals during World War II. But the nation sometimes failed to live up to its principles, most obviously with the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in internment camps during the war. Citing fears of espionage, the federal government violated the civil liberties of over 100,000 people, many of them U.S. citizens.
69. SIAHST_120621_606.JPG: Wheel 1927 from a Ford Model T four-door sedan With the introduction of the Model T in 1908 and the moving assembly line in 1913, the Ford Motor Company streamlined automobile production, transformed transportation, and kick-started American car culture. The assembly line meant that the company could produce more cars at less cost, making them more affordable. By the 1920s, the impact of the automobile was profound, affecting everything from daily life to the economy to the environment.
70. SIAHST_120621_612.JPG: Sample of penicillin mold 1928 produced by Alexander Fleming In the modern world, few innovations occur in isolation. British bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in his lab in 1928, but its benefits were unproven. Not until 1941, when British researchers brought a small sample of penicillin to a U.S. lab, was it discovered to be the most effective and safe antibacterial agent known.
71. SIAHST_120621_623.JPG: Art Deco–style jewelry 1915–30 designed by Paul Flato Modern, bold, and a distinct break with the past, the decorative style known as Art Deco originated in France and found expression in American art, architecture, and fashion in the 1920s and 1930s. One of the best-known American jewelers of the time, Paul Flato, designed this aquamarine and ruby set.
72. SIAHST_120621_642.JPG: Jazz bowl about 1931 made by Viktor Schreckengost at Cowan Pottery Studio, Rocky River, Ohio This bowl celebrates the energy of the Jazz Age -- the music, nightlife, and architecture of the 1920s. But the Roaring Twenties were years of contradictions, falling between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression. Issues such as ethnic and racial conflict, global politics, labor unrest, and Prohibition also helped define the modern age in that decade.
73. SIAHST_120621_649.JPG: Bowl opened in 1929 From the Lau Yee Chai restaurant in Waikiki Starting in the mid-1800s, tens of thousands of Chinese immigrated to Hawai'i to labor on sugar plantations. Many left this demanding work to open their own businesses. By the late 1800s the majority of restaurants in Hawai'i were operated by Chinese. Most catered in part to non-Chinese clients, perhaps none more so than Chong Pang Yat's exotic Lau Yee Chai restaurant which drew tourists and locals alike.
74. SIAHST_120621_657.JPG: Navajo "chief's" blanket about 1917 made by Navajo Nez Basa for her son in the army in World War I In an effort to assimilate Indians into mainstream American life, the federal government outlawed traditional religious ceremonies. It required children to attend English-language schools, and granted U.S. citizenship to some Native Americans. Although non-citizen Indians could claim a military deferment, up to a third of all adult American Indian men served in the U.S. armed forces in World War I. This helped convince Congress to grant full citizenship to all American-born Indians in 1924.
75. SIAHST_120621_665.JPG: Uniform 1942 worn by Irving Berlin in This Is the Army Within days of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States was at war, and Americans prepared to send loved ones overseas to fight. Composer Irving Berlin's Broadway musical and subsequent film This Is the Army helped raise money to support the military. It featured a cast of enlisted soldiers working together to put on a morale-boosting show.
76. SIAHST_120621_675.JPG: Emergence of Modern America: 1900-1945: The United States proved itself a military, technological, and economic giant on the world stage while it faced economic and social disparity on the home front. Post–World War I prosperity ended with the Great Depression and did not return until the nation mobilized for World War II. The objects in this section illustrate some of the major themes of the first half of the 1900s: world war, innovation, financial instability, and the emergence of modern popular culture.
77. SIAHST_120621_679.JPG: Cello made by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, Italy 1701 purchased by Charlotte Bergen in the 1930s In the late 1800s and early 1900s, wealthy Americans embraced high culture, founding museums, libraries, performance halls, and some of the great orchestras. Charlotte Bergen took her love of music one step further and purchased this rare instrument to play at home and, occasionally, in recitals.
78. SIAHST_120621_685.JPG: Kermit the Frog puppet 1970 created by Jim Henson Educators foresaw television's potential as an instructional tool as early as the 1930s, but the Public Broadcasting Act was not passed until 1967. Sesame Street debuted on PBS in 1969, with Kermit as the lead Muppet. The show has been heralded for its success in combining education with entertainment, and teaching everything from the alphabet to social tolerance, as in Kermit's hit song, "It's Not Easy Being Green."
79. SIAHST_120621_696.JPG: "The Homosexual Citizen" 1966 publication of the Washington, D.C., Mattachine Society In the 1960s, the expansion of civil rights legislation did not extend to gays. Frank Kameny, fired from a civilian army job in 1957 for being homosexual, became one of the earliest gay rights advocates in the country. Modeling the tactics of groups such as the NAACP, he founded Washington's Mattachine Society, the first organization to aggressively seek equal rights for gays and lesbians.
80. SIAHST_120621_702.JPG: Adlai Stevenson's briefcase 1960s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Cuban missile crisis The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union shaped global politics for forty-five years after World War II. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev's 1962 decision to install nuclear missiles in Cuba brought the two superpowers alarming close to nuclear war. Adlai Stevenson was one of few on President John F. Kennedy's Security Council to argue for a diplomatic rather than military response.
81. SIAHST_120621_710.JPG: Alice Paul's Equal Rights Amendment charm bracelet 1972 representing eleven of the thirty-five states that ratified the ERA Women's roles in the home, at work, and in society changed dramatically between 1923, when Alice Paul first proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, and 1972, when Congress passed it. But the ERA fell three states short of ratification, ending the last serious quest for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that men and women are granted equal rights under the law.
82. SIAHST_120621_716.JPG: Foreign-language political buttons 1952–68 presidential campaign materials American politicians have courted ethnic voters since 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed the right to vote to all people born or naturalized in the United States, expanding suffrage to millions of immigrants. In the mid-1900s, More recently, Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls used these pin-back buttons to appeal to immigrant communities.
83. SIAHST_120621_725.JPG: Batting helmet Baseball uniform about 1970 worn by Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates Following World War II, about one million Puerto Ricans migrated from the U.S.-held territory to the mainland in search of better opportunities. They created vibrant new communities while maintaining pride in their heritage. Baseball legend Roberto Clemente was a hero to Puerto Ricans here and in his homeland, leading the way for Latinos in professional sports in the United States.
84. SIAHST_120621_731.JPG: Postwar and Contemporary America: from 1945: Cold and "hot" wars cast long shadows across the exuberance of post–World War II prosperity, while social, cultural, and technological revolutions changed how and where we live. In the 21st century, America continues to grapple with complex social, economic, and political issues in an increasingly interconnected world. Scientific and medical breakthroughs, technological innovation, political and social change, and popular culture characterize the objects in this final section of the exhibition.
85. SIAHST_120621_734.JPG: Apple II computer 1980s made by Apple Computer, Cupertino, California Computers transformed how Americans experience daily life. Introduced in 1977, the Apple II series was affordable and commercially successful. It helped usher in the age of personal computing and make the United States the world leader of the computer revolution.
86. SIAHST_120621_746.JPG: Integrated circuit (1958) 1958 created by Jack Kilby Jack Kilby's demonstration of the first working integrated circuit in 1958 revolutionized the field of microelectronics; he received a Nobel Prize for physics in 2000 for his efforts. Initially invented for military use, microchips can contain millions of diverse components. Continually improved by hundreds of innovations, they eventually made possible the development of the computers and handheld devices that have helped shape and define communication in the digital age.
87. SIAHST_120621_749.JPG: Integrated circuit (1994) about 1994 made by Analog Devices, Inc. Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, many electronic devices relied on large glass vacuum tubes or transistors to create and process electrical signals. Continuing development has led to silicon-based microchips that are smaller and faster; as a rule the number of components on integrated circuits doubles every two years. The chips now hold billions of tiny electronic switches, and offer ever-greater computing power at low cost.
88. SIAHST_120621_767.JPG: Typewriter about 1960 used by Lawrence Ferlinghetti San Francisco poet and artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti published and promoted the Beats, a group of post-World War I avant-garde writers and artists. His 1956 arrest on obscenity charges, for publishing Allen Ginsburg's poem Howl, led to a landmark legal decision affirming the right to free speech.
89. SIAHST_120621_772.JPG: Bob Dylan's leather jacket about 1965 worn during a performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival Musician Bob Dylan's poignant and poetic lyrics made him a leader of America's acoustic folk revival during the early 1960s. At the Newport Festival, he defied audience expectations and performed with electric instruments for the first time. While this infuriated many folk purists, it proved Dylan's individuality as an artist, and remains a defining moment in the history of American popular music.
90. SIAHST_120621_778.JPG: Archie Bunker's chair about 1970 from the CBS television show All in the Family, 1971–79 As the post–World War II baby boom generation matured in the 1970s, many questioned the accepted view of the United States as an ideal and fully free society. Television began to reflect the growing awareness of social injustice with shows like the often-controversial All in the Family. It dealt with race, ethnicity, changing social mores, and the women's liberation movement.
91. SIAHST_120621_784.JPG: Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves about 1974 worn in the 1974 fight in Zaire against George Foreman Muhammad Ali's religious conversion to the Nation of Islam made him a symbol of the black power movement that grew out of the quest for civil rights in the 1960s. Stripped of his boxing license and heavyweight title in 1967 for refusing on religious grounds to be drafted into the U.S. Army, he was eventually reinstated and went on to fight many historic matches.
92. SIAHST_120621_797.JPG: Apolo Ohno's speed ice skates 2002 worn in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah Maintaining traditional values can be difficult for recently arrived families in the United States. Like many immigrant children, Apolo Ohno rebelled against his Japanese-born father's strict, traditional ways. But his father's guidance helped Ohno become the most decorated American winter Olympian, credited with popularizing the sport of short-track speed skating.
93. SIAHST_120621_804.JPG: Celia Cruz's shoes 1997 worn by the Cuban "Queen of Salsa" Fidel Castro's 1959 overthrow of the Cuban government and subsequent alliance with the Soviets meant an end to the United States' long involvement in the economy and politics of the island nation. As the political landscape changed dramatically in Cuba, many fled the country, including singer Celia Cruz, who found her place in New York City's thriving Latino music scene and never returned to her country of origin.
94. SIAHST_120621_812.JPG: NAACP cap 1963 worn by the donor during the 1963 March on Washington Racial inequality was one of the most critical and divisive domestic issues in the nation in the mid-1900s. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement. The organization worked for legislation and court rulings to secure basic liberties guaranteed by the constitutional amendments of the 1870s.
95. SIAHST_120621_818.JPG: DNA model template 1953 from Francis Crick and James Watson's original model Francis Crick and James Watson's discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule responsible for our genetic inheritance, was one of the great scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. It opened up the world of genetic testing, crime scene forensics, and even genetic engineering.
96. SIAHST_120621_825.JPG: Jonas Salk's polio vaccine 1954–55 vial of some of the first vaccine given to humans Although Jonas Salk's polio vaccine promised to eradicate one of the most feared diseases of the early 20th century, its acceptance was hardly easy. Many people feared catching the disease from the vaccine and, in fact, poor quality control by one of the manufacturers led to the infection of about 200,000 people. Others worried about the role of the federal government in administering the vaccine. Today, polio vaccines have eliminated the paralyzing disease throughout most of the world.
97. SIAHST_120621_832.JPG: Prosthetic leg socket 2003 made for Staff Sergeant Justin Kautz, Operation Iraqi Freedom Medical innovation is a necessary consequence of warfare. Whether in a lab or on the battlefield, solutions for trauma care have advanced rapidly to meet the needs of wounded soldiers. New treatments and technologies, along with better transportation, mean that more soldiers now survive devastating injuries.
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Description of Subject Matter: American Stories
April 12, 2012 – Indefinitely
A chronological look at the people, inventions, issues, and events that shape the American story, this exhibition showcases more than 100 historic and cultural touchstones of American history from the museum's vast holdings, supplemented by a few loans. A changing exhibition space features new acquisitions. Highlights include:
* a fragment of Plymouth Rock
* a section of the first transatlantic telegraph cable
* a sunstone capital from the Latter-day Saints temple at Nauvoo, Illinois
* the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz
* baseballs used by Babe Ruth and Sam Streeter
* a Kermit the Frog puppet
* clothing artifacts, including a “quinceañera” gown worn for a 15th-birthday celebration
* Apolo Ohno’s speed skates from the 2002 Winter Olympics
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2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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