Government, Politics, and Reform

March on Washington Handbill

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.

Date: 1960s

August 28 March Area Details

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1963
associated date
1963 08 28
ID Number
PL.251855.05b
catalog number
251855.05b
accession number
251855

Greensboro Lunch Counter

associated date
1960-02-01
ID Number
COLL.LUNCHCTR.005006
accession number
1994.0156

Coaster, John F. Kennedy, 1960

The Lagonda Printing Company of Springfield, Ohio printed a variety of paper placemats and coasters encouraging participation in the 1960 election. John F. Kennedy, caricaturized on this coaster, won the Democratic nomination that year.
Description
The Lagonda Printing Company of Springfield, Ohio printed a variety of paper placemats and coasters encouraging participation in the 1960 election. John F. Kennedy, caricaturized on this coaster, won the Democratic nomination that year. He defeated his Republican opponent Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in American history winning by less than two tenths of one percentage point.
date made
1960
associated person
Kennedy, John F.
ID Number
1978.2196.01
accession number
1978.2196
catalog number
1978.2196.01

The Debate That Never Was

In 1964, Republican challenger Barry Goldwater repeatedly demanded the opportunity to debate his opponent, President Lyndon Johnson, who repeatedly declined.
Description
In 1964, Republican challenger Barry Goldwater repeatedly demanded the opportunity to debate his opponent, President Lyndon Johnson, who repeatedly declined. Frustrated by the inability to schedule candidates in a joint appearance, the Republican National Committee produced cardboard displays promoting instead “The Debate That Never Was.” The displays offered brochures with “answers” to issues that might have come up if Goldwater had been given the chance to debate the president. The brochures "debated” topics which played to Goldwater’s preferred campaign themes such as the economy, civil rights, foreign policy, and fighting communism. Short quotes pulled from President Johnson’s public statements were followed by longer answers from Goldwater, who explained he wanted to give voters “a real choice, a clear choice.”
Location
Currently not on view
Associated Date
1964
associated person
Goldwater, Barry
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines)
associated instiuttion
Republican Party
ID Number
PL.227739.1964.U03
catalog number
227739.1964.U03

Stop Climbing Mountains Bob Kennedy

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960s
Associated Date
1972
referenced
Kennedy, Robert F.
Kennedy, Robert F.
ID Number
2018.0231.006
catalog number
2018.0231.006
accession number
2018.0231

Campaign Trade Literature, 1960

Order form for GOP campaign novelties such as the attached buttons for the 1960 campaign year.
Description
Order form for GOP campaign novelties such as the attached buttons for the 1960 campaign year.
date made
1960
associated
Republican National Committee
described
Nixon, Richard M.
ID Number
PL.235650.122
accession number
235650
catalog number
235650.122

We Shall Overcome

The official 1963 March on Wahington poster.Currently not on view
Description
The official 1963 March on Wahington poster.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1963
associated date
1963 08 28
associated
King, Jr., Martin Luther
ID Number
1979.1207.01
catalog number
1979.1207.01
accession number
1979.1207

Comb, Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964

Plastic combs were a popular twentieth century campaign giveaway. This one features one of the official slogans of President Lyndon B.
Description
Plastic combs were a popular twentieth century campaign giveaway. This one features one of the official slogans of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 campaign, “All the Way with LBJ.” With his defeat of his Republican opponent Senator Barry Goldwater, Johnson successfully retained the office he had assumed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
date made
1964
referenced
Johnson, Lyndon B.
ID Number
2001.0141.1
accession number
2001.0141
catalog number
2001.0141.01

Mayor Charles Evers

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.303
catalog number
2014.0112.303
accession number
2014.0112

Button, Lyndon Johnson, 1964

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964
Associated Date
1964
referenced
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Humphrey, Hubert H.
ID Number
2018.0231.044
catalog number
2018.0231.044
accession number
2018.0231

President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-01
depicted (sitter)
Johnson, Lady Bird
Johnson, Lyndon B.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.297
catalog number
2014.0112.297
accession number
2014.0112

Pamphlet, "Let's Talk Census", 1960

The U.S. Constitution requires that the federal government take a census every ten years. Citizens are required by law to be counted and to participate in this fundamental aspect of the democratic process.
Description
The U.S. Constitution requires that the federal government take a census every ten years. Citizens are required by law to be counted and to participate in this fundamental aspect of the democratic process. The primary purpose of the census is to allocate seats in the House of Representatives to the states according to their population. This booklet was part of the kit given to census enumerators in 1960.
date made
1960
ID Number
PL.235937.01h
accession number
235937
catalog number
235937.01h

August 28, 1963 Lincoln Memorial Program

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1963 08 28
ID Number
PL.251855.02b
catalog number
251855.02b
accession number
251855

President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964-05-28
depicted (sitter)
Johnson, Lady Bird
Johnson, Lyndon B.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.296
catalog number
2014.0112.296
accession number
2014.0112

Stop Cruel And Unusual Punishment For Homosexuals

A homemade gay rights protest sign used in the mid 1960s.Currently not on view
Description
A homemade gay rights protest sign used in the mid 1960s.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1965-1968
associated
Kameny, Frank
ID Number
2006.0223.11
accession number
2006.0223
catalog number
2006.0223.11

RFK

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960s
Associated Date
1968
referenced
Kennedy, Robert F.
Kennedy, Robert F.
ID Number
2018.0231.003
catalog number
2018.0231.003
accession number
2018.0231

The Homosexual Citizen In The Great Society

A poster used in the 1960s Gay Rights Movement.Currently not on view
Description
A poster used in the 1960s Gay Rights Movement.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1965-24-26
associated date
September 24, 1965
associated
Kameny, Frank
referenced
Johnson, Lyndon B.
ID Number
2007.0131.17
catalog number
2007.0131.17
accession number
2007.0131

Ship Model, Santa Maria

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed a small fleet of three small ships west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find a shorter route to the riches of Asia.
Description
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed a small fleet of three small ships west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find a shorter route to the riches of Asia. Before his voyages, Chinese and Indian luxuries for European markets were transported over the long and hazardous overland route through Arabia.
The three-masted vessel Santa Maria was the largest of Columbus’s expeditionary vessels and his flagship. Measuring around 70 feet in length, it carried a crew of 40 men. The Santa Maria and Columbus’s other fleet members the Niña and the Pinta were older ships used for coastal trading rather than vessels designed for ocean crossings. Nine weeks after the little fleet left Spain, land was sighted in the Caribbean on 12 October 1492, but exactly which island Columbus’s crew first spotted remains disputed.
The fleet went on to explore the north coasts of the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (now Haiti). On Christmas Day 1492, the Santa Maria ran aground on a reef off Hispaniola and was declared a total loss. The ship’s timbers were salvaged and used to build a small fort on shore. Fortunately for Columbus, he was able to return to Spain on the Niña.
Instead of Asia, Columbus had landed in the Caribbean islands on his first voyage. Although they were already inhabited, he claimed them for Spain. Columbus made three more voyages to the western hemisphere between 1493 and 1504.
Waves of conquerors and colonists—both free and enslaved—followed. What was a triumph for Spain became a catastrophe for native peoples. New livestock, plants, diseases, and beliefs unsettled centuries-old communities and ecosystems, changing and destroying the lives of millions.
This model was built at the Museo Maritimo de Barcelona, Spain, under the supervision of museum director Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo y Teran, who published a book on the Santa Maria in 1964.
Date made
1965
ID Number
TR.325800
catalog number
325800
accession number
260040

Button, Lyndon Johnson, 1964

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964
Associated Date
1964
referenced
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Humphrey, Hubert H.
ID Number
2018.0231.048
catalog number
2018.0231.048
accession number
2018.0231

Light bulb, Democratic Party, 1968

Neon-glow lamps were invented in 1921 and novelty electrodes in a variety of shapes that glowed red-orange were added a decade later. A donkey shape, available since the 1940s, was featured in this bulb sold by duro-lite during the 1968 presidential campaign.
Description
Neon-glow lamps were invented in 1921 and novelty electrodes in a variety of shapes that glowed red-orange were added a decade later. A donkey shape, available since the 1940s, was featured in this bulb sold by duro-lite during the 1968 presidential campaign. The packaging on this 3-watt Democratic-themed bulb and its Republican counterpart promoted many reasons to purchase this item: “Support your Political Party with this authentic mascot that lights up in full glory. . . . Makes ideal night light, especially for children’s room. . . . Cozy, warm effect enhances room atmosphere in den, recreation room. A most unusual conversation piece.”
date made
1968
associated institution
Democratic National Party
ID Number
PL.281977.02
catalog number
281977.02
accession number
281977

Johnson 1964 Campaign Button

Date made
1964
depicted
Johnson, Lyndon B.
referenced
Johnson, Lyndon B.
ID Number
2003.0317.092
catalog number
2003.0317.092
accession number
2003.0317

map

A black and white map of Resurrection City, drafted on May 25, 1968 by David McClary. Resurrection City was a shanty town build on the National Mall as part of the Poor People's Campaign.Currently not on view
Description
A black and white map of Resurrection City, drafted on May 25, 1968 by David McClary. Resurrection City was a shanty town build on the National Mall as part of the Poor People's Campaign.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
May 25, 1968
1968-05-28
1968-05-25
ID Number
PL.279881.04
accession number
1968.279881
catalog number
279881.04

Tricia Nixon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969-07
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.320
catalog number
2014.0112.320
accession number
2014.0112

Gay Is Good Drum

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1963
associated
Kameny, Frank
ID Number
2007.0131.03
accession number
2007.0131
catalog number
2007.0131.03

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