Government, Politics, and Reform

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln are all represented in the Museum's collections—by a surveying compass, a lap desk, and a top hat, among other artifacts. But the roughly 100,000 objects in this collection reach beyond the possessions of statesmen to touch the broader political life of the nation—in election campaigns, the women's suffrage movement, labor activity, civil rights, and many other areas. Campaign objects make up much of the collection, including posters, novelties, ballots, voting machines, and many others. A second group includes general political history artifacts, such as first ladies' clothing and accessories, diplomatic materials, ceremonial objects, national symbols, and paintings and sculptures of political figures. The third main area focuses on artifacts related to political reform movements, from labor unions to antiwar groups.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by William R.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by William R. Pywell, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
The Old Capitol Prison, previous to the war, was a dingy, crumbling structure, with rambling passages, and with quaint rooms where one least expected to find them. The staircases ran up about the building with a sort of uncertainty that bewildered the visitor, and dust and cob-webs hung upon its walls so thick, that one walked cautiously along its floors, lest a heavy tread should bring down the accumulated filth of years upon his head. Congress ordered its erection during the war of 1812, for its own use until the Capitol, burned by the British, could be rebuilt; and after the completion of the latter, this establishment was used as a boarding house for members. The lower part of the city becoming the centre of business, the Old Capitol was abandoned by its lodgers, and rapidly sunk to decay; some of the lower class occasionally renting apartments, but never remaining any length of time. At the commencement of the war, its only tenant was an humble German, who managed to subsist himself and family, as a cobbler, and who was not at all displeased at the sudden termination of his lease by the military authorities. Iron bars were placed in the windows, the doors of the several apartments were strengthened, and the building soon became notorious as a prison for military offenders, prisoners of state and captured rebels. Many prominent Confederate Generals have been confined in it, and scores of citizens engaged in disloyal practices, suddenly found their plans frustrated, and themselves on their way to its cells before they could give a word of warning to associates. Captain Wirz, the Andersonville prison-keeper, was imprisoned here, and expiated his crimes upon the gallows in its yard, as had numbers of offenders before him.
When occupied by prisoners, its windows were generally crowded by its inmates, and passers by were not allowed to stop at any time on the opposite side of the street, lest they should attempt to communicate, by signs, with those within the prison. The regulations required that all correspondence and reading matter, as well as food for the prisoners should be closely scrutinized, so as to prevent any improper communication or aid from the outside. Among the plans for conveying money and messages from external sources, was that of secreting in packages of smoking tobacco the object to be transmitted. This, however, was early detected, and afterwards was never attempted with success. Underscoring words in books, at long intervals, so that when taken together they would embody a sentence, was not unusual with the prisoners when about to return to their friends volumes that had been loaned them for perusal. The latter occasioned considerable labor to the officers of the prison, every book going to or from the inmates being carefully examined, not only for messages of this kind, but for communications that might be concealed between leaves pasted together. The prisoners attempted to tunnel out several times, but never with success. A few escaped from the windows, but most of them who undertook it were discovered and recaptured. One young man fixed a spring-board in an upper window, and attempted to jump out into the street, but broke his leg, and by his signal failure discouraged any other efforts to escape in this manner. A strong guard was always kept in the passages of the prison as well as on the streets surrounding it, and during the last two years of the war, none ever succeeded in eluding the vigilance of their keepers.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.40
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.40
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.On the evening of the 7th of April, 1865, General Grant first forwarded, under a flag of truce, a letter to Gen.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
On the evening of the 7th of April, 1865, General Grant first forwarded, under a flag of truce, a letter to Gen. Lee, demanding the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, in order to avoid the further effusion of blood. That army had re-crossed the Appomattox river at High Bridge and Farmville, closely pressed by Sheridan's cavalry and the Armies of the Potomac and James. On the 8th, some correspondence passed between the two Commanding Generals, the one army retreating towards Lynchburg, followed by the Second and Sixth Corps, whilst the cavalry and the Fifth and Twenty-Fourth Corps made forced marches in order to pass around and gain the front of the enemy. About noon on the 9th, the head of the Second Corps, when within three miles of Appomattox Court-House, came up with the rear guard of the enemy; and at the same time, Gen. Lee, in person, appeared with a flag of truce, and, by letter, asked for a suspension of hostilities, pending negotiations for a surrender. About four o'clock in the afternoon of that eventful Sunday, the glad tidings was announced throughout the Union Armies that the Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered. The excitement among our troops was unparalleled, officers and men uniting in the most extravagant demonstrations of joy. The photograph represents the house in which the terms of capitulation between Generals Grant and Lee were signed. The apple tree (about half a mile from the Court-House) under which they first met, has been entirely carried away in pieces, as mementoes, not even the roots remaining.
It is a singular fact that the owner of this house, Mr. McLean, was living on the first Bull Run battle-field at the time of that engagement, and afterwards removed to this place for the purpose of being secure from the visitation of an army.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-04
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.49
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.49
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.The Old Tobacco Warehouse is too well known to need much description.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
The Old Tobacco Warehouse is too well known to need much description. This view was taken after the time was passed when Union officers and men looked wearily through the tiara at the monotonous flow of the James, and wondered how much longer they could endure without going mad; or peeping out into the street at the risk of being fired at by some sentry, watched the relief on its rounds, or the arrival of more prisoners to swell the already overcrowded numbers in durance. The Union flag floats upon the building, and the tables are turned. Rebel prisoners occupy the floors, so lately filled by Northern soldiers, with permission to kick up their heels to their hearts' content. There is a little crowd around the door at the corner, formed of destitute persona seeking relief. It was in this office the Union prisoners were received by the prison-keepers, and coolly dispoiled of any little trifles left about their persona, by their captors. The lower windows on the end of the building, light some of the small cells in the foundation, where officers were placed for punishment. It was here that Captains Flynn and Sawyer were confined, pending the retaliatory execution, to which they were condemned by the rebel authorities, and fortunately prevented by the prompt measures adopted by our Government. When Turner – brother of the notorious Dick – gave himself up, to escape vengeance at the hands of the soldiers, he was deposited in one of these places, that he might have a chance to appreciate the misery of some of those he had so ruthlessly confined there. This view of the Libby is taken from Castle Thunder, a warehouse of the same order of architecture.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-04
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.39
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.39
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
The Village of Fairfax Court-House, Virginia, eighteen miles from Washington, was, previous to the rebellion, one of the loveliest of the State. Numbering about three thousand inhabitants, with three large hotels, two fine churches, and a flourishing female institute, the place had become of considerable importance at the time of secession, from which it was the first to suffer. Each of the many commands which occupied the town during the war added to the work of devastation commenced in 1861, and long before peace was announced its comeliness had departed. Its best houses were burned, the churches were converted into hospitals, and then into stables, while the venerable Court-House was stripped of its wood-work, leaving only the naked walls and roof. In 1864, loop-holes were cut through the sides of the building for riflemen and troops stationed in it to repel any attack that might be made by guerillas who constantly hovered in the vicinity. The records kept here were of great historical interest, dating from the early settlement of Virginia, and including many documents in the writing of General Washington. A great number of these were carried off by curiosity hunters in the sacking which took place in September, 1862, and a still greater number were ruthlessly destroyed by the soldiery. Generals McClellan and Hooker each temporarily had their headquarters here when in command of the Army of the Potomac, as did also the lamented Sumner, and other officers of equal rank. The battle-field of Bull Run is ten miles distant, and Chantilly, where the gallant Kearney and Stephens fell, but five miles away.
The village is now, however, rapidly recovering from its misfortunes. Shattered houses have been repaired, families are returning to their homes, the Court-House is being put in order for the occupation of the courts, and, under the influence of Northern enterprise, the town promises soon to wear even more beauty than it ever knew before.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1863-06
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0334.03
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0334.03
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
This place is the county seat of Charles City County, about twenty-five miles southeast from Richmond, and is a fair specimen of many Virginia Court-Houses. This neighborhood was the scene of a number of severe cavalry fights during the war, the Court-House, in 1862, being only three miles from the intrenched camp of Gen. McClellan, whose army marched past the village in its retreat from before Richmond to Fortress Monroe. Gen. Meade's army, in 1864, again occupied this section, and passed over its roads from Coal Harbor to Petersburg, when the building was sacked by the troops, and many of the records were destroyed. There were but two or three dwellings and a church composing the village, and a stranger might pass through the place without dreaming that it possessed a name. Its history dates from the early settlement of Virginia, and the cemeteries round about it contain the names of those who passed away one hundred years ago.
The return of peace has here failed to quicken the people, and everything is rapidly sinking to decay. The aristocratic families, impoverished by the war, and deprived of the labor of their slaves, barely manage to live, and the whole country along the James is rapidly becoming overgrown with scrub timber and chaparral.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-06
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.18
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.18
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1944-1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1158
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1158
White House staff, protocol placement for indoor State Arrival Ceremony, February 5, 1998.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
White House staff, protocol placement for indoor State Arrival Ceremony, February 5, 1998.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1998-02-05
maker
Walker, Diana
ID Number
2003.0250.080
catalog number
2003.0250.080
accession number
2003.0250
During the Great Depression, government photographer Dorothea Lange took this picture at a migrant farmworkers' camp near Nipomo, California. Lange's brief caption recorded her impressions of the family's plight: "Destitute pea pickers ...
Description
During the Great Depression, government photographer Dorothea Lange took this picture at a migrant farmworkers' camp near Nipomo, California. Lange's brief caption recorded her impressions of the family's plight: "Destitute pea pickers ... a 32-year-old mother of seven children."
First published in a San Francisco newspaper, this poignant image became one of the most famous photographs of the Depression era, emblematic of the hardships suffered by poor migrant families. The "migrant mother," anonymous for many years, was later identified as Oklahoma native Florence Thompson.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Lange, Dorothea
ID Number
1983.0069.07
accession number
1983.0069
catalog number
83.69.7
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-08-27
depicted (sitter)
La Guardia, Fiorello H.
DeGaulle, Charles
ID Number
2013.0327.1160
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1160
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.644
catalog number
2014.0112.644
accession number
2014.0112
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-09-30
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0818
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0818
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
depicted (sitter)
Harriman, W. Averell
ID Number
2013.0327.0757
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0757
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2000-04-11
depicted (sitter)
Thurmond, Strom
maker
Kennerly, David Hume
ID Number
2003.0005.089
accession number
2003.0005
catalog number
2003.0005.089
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
depicted (sitter)
Jackson, Jesse
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.358
catalog number
2014.0112.358
accession number
2014.0112
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1944-1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1157
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1157
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-02-07
depicted (sitter)
La Guardia, Fiorello H.
ID Number
2013.0327.1148
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1148
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
On the 1st of October, 1862, two weeks after the battle of Antietam, President Lincoln visited the Army of the Potomac, encamped near Harper's Ferry, in Maryland. He was accompanied on his trip by Major General McClernand and Staff, Colonel Lamon, the Marshal of the District of Columbia, and Mr. Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The President reached General Sumner's headquarters, on Bolivar Heights, at Harper's Ferry, on Wednesday, occupied the afternoon in reviewing the forces at that position, and spent the night at General Sumner's quarters. On Thursday morning he recrossed the Potomac, and was met by General McClellan and Staff, who conducted him during that and the following day over the scenes of the recent battle, and in reviewing the various Corps and Divisions of the Army, extending over a space of several miles. The evening and night of Thursday and Friday the President spent at General McClellan's quarters, occupying much of the time in private conversation with him. In this conversation, it is said, that when the President alluded to the complaints that were being made of the slowness of the General's movements, General McClellan replied, "You may find those who will go faster than I, Mr. President; but it is very doubtful if you will find many who will go further."
On Saturday, the President set out on his return home, accompanied by General McClellan as far as Middletown, but on the way, riding over the battle-field of South Mountain, the leading incidents of which, the scenes of particularly desparate conflicts, the names of the Corps and officers engaged, &c., were pointed out and described by the General, as he had previously done those of the great battle of Antietam; in all of which the President evinced a deep interest. The President then proceeded to Frederick, where he was received by the people with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of respect, and reached Washington in a special train at ten o'clock at night.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862-10
depicted
Lincoln, Abraham
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0334.23
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0334.23
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-08-27
depicted (sitter)
DeGaulle, Charles
La Guardia, Fiorello H.
ID Number
2013.0327.1149
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1149
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1944-1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1156
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1156
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PG.66.25.58
accession number
263090
catalog number
66.25.58
A Lewis Hine silver print from about 1906–1918, this image of a young boy working at a loom in a cotton mill in Rhode Island is one in a series of photographs made by Hine for the National Child Labor Committee.
Description
A Lewis Hine silver print from about 1906–1918, this image of a young boy working at a loom in a cotton mill in Rhode Island is one in a series of photographs made by Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. The photographs document child labor throughout America in the early 20th century. As a "sociological photographer" and one of the earliest practitioners of what has come to be known as photojournalism, Hine used his photography to raise public consciousness about the inhumane and dangerous working conditions to which children were being exposed every day. His work was instrumental in bringing about child labor laws and raising safety standards in the American workplace, a social movement that would secure the promise of childhood for future generations.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1906-1918
maker
Hine, Lewis
ID Number
PG.72.78.10
accession number
302041
catalog number
72.78.10
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Gutekunst, Frederic
ID Number
PG.003209
catalog number
3209
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro head and shoulders portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ca. 1932. Roosevelt was governor of New York when the photograph was taken, he wears a blue tie and gray wool jacket.Photo Recto: Signed by artisit in lower right corner (white pencil).
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro head and shoulders portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ca. 1932. Roosevelt was governor of New York when the photograph was taken, he wears a blue tie and gray wool jacket.
Photo Recto: Signed by artisit in lower right corner (white pencil). Mount Recto: "F.D.R." in lower left side (white pencil). "President Franklin Delano Roosevelt" in lower left corner (label). Verso: Muray label. "President F. D. Roosevelt (then governor) for Chicago Tribune" (black marker). "F.D.R. 1932" (pencil). "#8" (pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
depicted (sitter)
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.20
catalog number
69.247.20
accession number
287542
"LBJ at White House" by Fred Ward; black and white image of a man in profile walking with his head down up a concrete path towards a building; multi-level stone structure in backgroundCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
"LBJ at White House" by Fred Ward; black and white image of a man in profile walking with his head down up a concrete path towards a building; multi-level stone structure in background
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Johnson, Lyndon B.
ID Number
PG.71.13.45
catalog number
71.13.45
accession number
2018.0072

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