BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: America on the Move

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: America on the Move:

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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. SIAHMV_160310_004.JPG: What Happened Next? What Happened to New York? America has been involved in global trade since colonial times. In the first half of the 19th century, the United States exported raw materials and imported manufactured goods. As the country industrialized, it became a major exporter of factory-produced items, from sewing machines to cars. In recent years, it has again imported manufactured goods, and exported agricultural products and financial and computer-related services. The United States has been a major player in international economy since the 1880s. New York City has been central to the story of America's international trade. In the 1920s, half of America's imports and exports moved through the city. But New York's role as a port began declining in the 1960s as containerships moved to terminals elsewhere in the area, and New York's transportation problems made it harder to get trucks and trains from the ports out of the city. Ocean liners no longer carried millions of immigrants to New York. Manufacturers moved out of the city, looking for cheaper labor. But New York reinvented itself as a new kind of global city. More than ever, it is a center of international finance, banking, art, culture, and professional services. The new New York is a city tied to the world economy not only by the goods it manufactures, buys, sells, and transports, but also by the ideas, culture, and financial and information services it produces.
2. SIAHMV_160310_007.JPG: Port Traffic New York Harbor has long been one of the busiest in the world. In 1920, oceangoing steamers entered or left the port about every 20 minutes. Coastal freighters, harbor tugs, river steamers, and other ships shared the water and the piers that lined Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the New Jersey banks of the Hudson River. These ship models represent vessels that were part of New York's busy harbor traffic in the 1920s.
3. SIAHMV_160310_009.JPG: Harbor lighter Mauch Chunk, 1912
4. SIAHMV_160310_011.JPG: Central Railroad of New Jersey No. 30 moving crated automobiles at a waterfront railroad spur. Huge amounts of cargo flowed through the Port of New York. Small lighters and barges frequently moved it from ship to shore. The lighter Mauch Chunk, equipped with its lifting derrick, connected waiting freighters to the waterfront freight yards of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
5. SIAHMV_160310_014.JPG: Hendrick Hudson passing the Highlands of the Hudson River, about 1915 Passenger boats connected New York City to points across the ocean, along the East Coast, deep into New York State, and just across the harbor. The Hendrick Hudson ran pleasure excursions up the Hudson River to Albany between 1906 and 1948. In the early 1920s it carried as many as 5,500 leisure travelers on each of its 9-1/2-hour trips.
6. SIAHMV_160310_018.JPG: Excursion steamer Hendrick Hudson, 1906
7. SIAHMV_160310_026.JPG: Schooner C.C. Mengel Jr., 1916 Large wooden schooners were the primary carriers of bulk cargos -- coal, lumber, stone, ice -- at the end of the 19th century. By the 1920s, steamers had taken over most of this trade. Among the schooners still working was the C.C. Mengel Jr., which operated out of New York between 1919 and 1921. With a crew of eight, it carried lumber, clay, pilings, gypsum, barrel staves, and asphalt among ports from Nova Scotia to Ireland to the West Indies. It was wrecked in 1922.
8. SIAHMV_160310_029.JPG: The California steaming through the Panama Canal, about 1930 New York was connected to California by water as well as by railroad. The California was the first passenger ship specifically built to sail between the East and West Coasts through the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914. In a leisurely 13 days, the California and its crew of 351 carried 751 passengers from New York to San Francisco, calling at Havana, Cuba; Balboa, Panama; San Diego; and Los Angeles.
9. SIAHMV_160310_031.JPG: Tugboat in the East River, about 1915 New York's tugboats maneuvered large oceangoing vessels through the hazards of confined docks, and towed barges and scows across the harbor. The railroads owned dozens, boats like the Pennsylvania Railroad's Brooklyn, which shepherded floats of boxcars from New Jersey rail yards to freight terminals in Manhattan.
10. SIAHMV_160310_034.JPG: Harbor tugboat Brooklyn
11. SIAHMV_160310_036.JPG: American Journeys The history of this nation has been shaped by the journeys of people who have come to the United States, migrated within its boundaries, and even those who returned to their native lands. Travel changed their lives and influenced communities and culture. Share a few of their stories. See how your family's experiences compare to those of others.
12. SIAHMV_160310_042.JPG: H. Nelson Jackson Immigrant, Migrant, Adventurer, Traveler Nelson Jackson is best known for his pioneering trip across the country by automobile. But that trip was only one of many transportation stories in his life. Jackson's great-grandfather, John Jackson, was born in 1771 in Massachusetts but fled to Canada during the War of 1812. Born in Kingston, Canada, in 1872, H. Nelson Jackson traveled to the United States to attend medical school, and decided to stay. In 1899 he married the daughter of a prominent Burlington, Vermont, family. For more on Nelson Jackson and his journey across the continent, see the Crossing the Country: Somewhere in Wyoming section of this exhibition. Off to Alaska and Mexico In 1900 Nelson Jackson and his wife Bertha migrated to the frontier lands of Alaska to mine for gold in the Yukon Valley. In 1904 they moved to Santa Eulalia, Mexico, to look for silver. After six years as manager of the Buena Tierra mine, Nelson negotiated its sale, and the Jacksons returned to Burlington, Vermont. They spent the rest of their lives as pillars of their New England community. Shipping Out for God and Country Despite his age, 45, Nelson Jackson joined the army during World War I and was sent to France on the Leviathan, a passenger liner turned transport ship. While serving as a doctor in the Medical Corps, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Argonne (Montfaucon). After returning home, he traveled extensively, founding and promoting the American Legion and championing services for disabled soldiers.
13. SIAHMV_160310_047.JPG: Harry Bridges Immigrant, Adventurer, Traveler Harry Bridges was the radical leader of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. He was also an adventurer and immigrant. Born in Australia, Harry went to sea at age 17 in search of adventure and to escape from his parents. After three years as a merchant seaman, he entered the United States in 1920, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1945. In 1939 the government attempted to deport Bridges, accusing him of being a communist. For more on Harry Bridges and longshoremen, see the Transforming the Waterfront: San Francisco and Oakland section of this exhibition. Crossing the Border When Harry Bridges jumped ship in San Francisco in 1920, all he had to do was pay the eight-dollar head tax to enter the country. Other immigrants didn't find it so easy. Asians coming at the same time and through the same port were usually detained for a few weeks at Angel Island and subjected to extensive background checks. Crossing State Lines In 1958 Harry Bridges and Noriko (Nikki) Sawada flew to Reno, Nevada to get married. But Nevada had laws forbidding whites from marrying Asians, and Nikki, born in Glendale, California, was of Japanese ancestry. Despite Harry's plea that Noriko "isn't really Japanese -- she was born in America," the judge refused to marry them. They sued the state of Nevada, and three days later they were wed.
14. SIAHMV_160310_052.JPG: Mary Johnson Sprow Migrant, Commuter In 1898, at age 12, Mary Johnson, like many young rural southern African American women, was sent by her family to work in Washington, D.C., as a live-in domestic. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, thousands of African Americans migrated north, fleeing poverty and violence for the promise of economic opportunity and greater equality. While Johnson traveled north by train, others made the journey by bus, boat, or automobile. For more on African American experiences, see the A Streetcar City: Washington, D.C., and Lives on the Railroad: Salisbury, North Carolina sections of this exhibition. Out of the House Like many other African American women in the rural South, Mary Johnson was "trained up" to domestic work out of necessity. Even as a young child in Catalpha, Virginia, Johnson had worked in white households to help support her large family and to learn the trade of domestic work. According to Johnson, "Your people all trained you to do service work. It was what they all knew you had to learn -- period." "Then I Was Sent North to Work" When Mary Johnson went north, her work didn't change. After arriving in the city, she helped look after her brothers' children and then became a live-in maid in three different households -- including a senator's house. As part of the household staff, she traveled with the family to their summer house. Working Out In the 1920s, like many others, Mary Johnson became a day worker and moved into a boardinghouse with other young domestics. Traveling to work by foot, trolley, or bus, day workers enjoyed greater independence than live-in maids. They carried their maid's uniform, a hated symbol of domination, in a "freedom bag."
15. SIAHMV_160310_058.JPG: Fred and Maryann Knoche Commuters, Errand Runners, Vacationers In 1985, while planning the family vacation, Fred and Maryann Knoche decided to buy a new style of vehicle, a minivan, for the long drive from Shelby Township, Michigan, to Orlando, Florida. The minivan's roominess would be useful not just on the vacation, but for running errands around town. For more on the Knoche family and their 1986 minivan, see the I-10: On the Interstate section of this exhibition. Fred at work Living in the outer suburbs of Detroit, Fred Knoche had a 24-mile commute to his locksmith shop in downtown Detroit. Countless Errands Whether running to the grocery store or ferrying the kids to sports or after-school activities, Maryann Knoche, like so many other suburban moms, was almost always in motion. Adrienne's softball team piled into the minivan for the ride home after the game, and Gary's hockey teammates often stowed their bulky equipment in the family minivan. Off to College In 1985 Fred and Maryann Knoche packed the family minivan with their daughter Adrienne's clothes and books and drove her off to school. While the drive to Central Michigan University was only 140 miles, the trip seemed like a monumental journey.
16. SIAHMV_160310_063.JPG: Borders
17. SIAHMV_160310_064.JPG: From the West 1876-1924
18. SIAHMV_160310_067.JPG: 1925-1964
19. SIAHMV_160310_069.JPG: 1965-2000
20. SIAHMV_160310_072.JPG: From the North 1876-1924
21. SIAHMV_160310_075.JPG: 1925-1964
22. SIAHMV_160310_078.JPG: 1965-2000
23. SIAHMV_160310_081.JPG: From the South 1876-1924
24. SIAHMV_160310_083.JPG: 1925-1964
25. SIAHMV_160310_085.JPG: 1956-2000
26. SIAHMV_160310_088.JPG: 1965-2000
27. SIAHMV_160310_091.JPG: From the East 1876-1924
28. SIAHMV_160310_093.JPG: 1925-1964
29. SIAHMV_160310_095.JPG: 1965-2000
30. SIAHMV_160310_103.JPG: A Nation of Immigrants
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Description of Subject Matter: America on the Move
November 22, 2003 – Permanent

This major exhibition examines how transportation—from 1876 to 1999—has shaped our American identity from a mostly rural nation into a major economic power, forged a sense of national unity, delivered consumer abundance, and encouraged a degree of social and economic mobility unlike that of any other nation of the world.

Arranged chronologically and through 19 sections, historical moments explored include the coming of the railroad to a California town in 1876, the role of the streetcar and the automobile in creating suburbs outside of cities, and the transformation of a U.S. port with the introduction of containerized shipping in the 1960s.

Among the 300 objects on view, highlights include:

Electrifying Cars (October 27, 2011-January 2012) explores the history of the electric car from the early 20th century to the present and showcases two cars—a 1904 Columbia electric runabout, the best-selling car in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, and a 1913 Ford Model T touring car, a gasoline car equipped with an early type of electric starter and electric headlights.
"Jupiter," a steam-powered locomotive built in 1876 for the Santa Cruz Railroad
260-ton "1401" locomotive, which pulled President Franklin Roosevelt's funeral train on part of its journey to Washington, D.C.
1903 Winton was the first car driven across the U.S.—by H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker, with Bud the Dog as a passenger
1926 Ford Model T Roadster; the Ford Motor Company ceased production of the Model T in 1927
1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle
Chicago Transit Authority "L" mass transit car built in 1959
a piece of U.S. Route 66, the "People's Highway," that connects Chicago to Los Angeles
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2016 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Seven relatively short trips this year: two Civil War Trust conference (Gettysburg, PA and West Point, NY, with a side-trip to New York City), my 11th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Utah, Nevada, and California), a quick trip to Michigan for Uncle Wayne's funeral, two additional trips to New York City, and a Civil Rights site trip to Alabama during the November elections. Being in places where people died to preserve the rights of minority voters made the Trumputin election even more depressing. Number of photos taken this year: just over 610,000.
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