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.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Campaign banner, 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election in 1932 and the subsequent New Deal legislation strengthened labor unions and social reform movements.
Description
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Campaign banner, 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election in 1932 and the subsequent New Deal legislation strengthened labor unions and social reform movements. Many within the Roosevelt Administration believed that the Depression resulted from under-consumption due to low wages. Through a number of programs — including the National Recovery Administration, the Wagner Labor Relations Act (which
protected labor organizing), and the Fair Labor Standards Act — the government raised wages and improved working conditions to put the economy back on track.
Location
Currently not on view
associated person
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
PL.227739.1940.C06
catalog number
227739.1940.C06
accession number
227739
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners.
Description
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners. This banner was used in White House pickets supporting woman’s suffrage.
These banners took some of what suffragists considered the most ridiculous objections to woman suffrage and pointed out their folly using disarming humor. This set paired the Objection, "Women are TOO PURE for the DIRTY POOL of politics" and "Answer If the Pool is dirty THE TIME HAS COME TO CLEAN IT. Women have had Long Experience Cleaning up after Men."
associated institution
National Woman's Party
associated person
Paul, Alice
ID Number
1987.0165.154
catalog number
1987.0165.154
accession number
1987.0165
This rare silk banner was probably carried in a public parade in Philadelphia in the mid to late 1790s.
Description
This rare silk banner was probably carried in a public parade in Philadelphia in the mid to late 1790s. Its elaborate design suggests the importance of such festivals, which provided a place for many Americans, voters and non-voters, to express patriotic sentiments or partisan views on current events.
The banner, mostly likely made by women, is embroidered on both sides, so that it could be viewed as it was carried down the street or hung from a prominent building. The Liberty figure here wears a Grecian garment, carries a pole with a “liberty cap” on it, and nourishes the American eagle—all while standing triumphant over the fallen crown and broken chains of monarchy.
date made
1796
ID Number
1985.0849.01
accession number
1985.0849
catalog number
1985.0849.01
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners.
Description
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners. This banner was used in White House pickets supporting woman’s suffrage.
These banners took some of what suffragists considered the most ridiculous objections to woman suffrage and pointed out their folly using disarming humor. This set paired the Objection, "Women are TOO PURE for the DIRTY POOL of politics" and "Answer If the Pool is dirty THE TIME HAS COME TO CLEAN IT. Women have had Long Experience Cleaning up after Men."
associated institution
National Woman's Party
associated person
Paul, Alice
ID Number
1987.0165.147
catalog number
1987.0165.147
accession number
1987.0165
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners.
Description
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners. This banner was used in White House pickets supporting woman’s suffrage.
These banners took some of what suffragists considered the most ridiculous objections to woman suffrage and pointed out their folly using disarming humor. This set paired the Objection, "It would make women less attractive to men" with the Answer "If to be attractive means to be silly and irresponsible Yes. It depends on what you like."
Location
Currently not on view
associated institution
National Woman's Party
associated person
Paul, Alice
ID Number
1987.0165.144
catalog number
1987.0165.144
accession number
1987.0165
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
ID Number
1986.0710.0055
accession number
1986.0710
catalog number
1986.0710.55
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
ID Number
1986.0710.0039
accession number
1986.0710
catalog number
1986.0710.39
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners.
Description
One half of a set of Woman Suffrage Objection and Answer Banners. This banner was used in White House pickets supporting woman’s suffrage.
These banners took some of what suffragists considered the most ridiculous objections to woman suffrage and pointed out their folly using disarming humor. This set paired the Objection, "It would make women less attractive to men" with the Answer "If to be attractive means to be silly and irresponsible Yes. It depends on what you like."
Location
Currently not on view
associated institution
National Woman's Party
associated person
Paul, Alice
ID Number
1987.0165.149
catalog number
1987.0165.149
accession number
1987.0165
This cloth banner celebrates the electoral victory of Thomas Jefferson over John Adams in the presidential election of 1800.
Description
This cloth banner celebrates the electoral victory of Thomas Jefferson over John Adams in the presidential election of 1800. The banner is believed to be one of the earliest surviving textiles carrying partisan imagery, created at the dawn of the first American party system in which power passed from Federalists to Jeffersonian Republicans. Its imagery celebrates Jefferson's electoral victory, while denigrating Adams, his opponent. The banner pictures Jefferson's likeness below an eagle with a streamer in its beak that proclaims, "T. Jefferson President of the United States of America / John Adams is no more."
Date made
1800
associated date
1800
associated person
Jefferson, Thomas
Adams, John
ID Number
PL.227739.1800.C01
catalog number
227739.1800.C01
accession number
227739
In the summer of 1862, Lincoln drafted an executive order on slavery.
Description
In the summer of 1862, Lincoln drafted an executive order on slavery. Published in September, it declared that, as of January 1, 1863, all persons held in slavery in areas still in rebellion would be “then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not directly free any enslaved people in Union-controlled areas, it was widely understood that a Union victory would mean the end of slavery.
This paper banner celebrates the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Gift of Dr. Clara S. Ludlow, 1911
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
associated person
Lincoln, Abraham
ID Number
PL.012132
catalog number
12132
accession number
52752
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
associated date
1840
associated person
Harrison, William
Tyler, John
associated institution
Whig Party
ID Number
PL.238189.01
catalog number
238189.01
accession number
238189
Creating celebrations helped to establish national identity. The Fourth of July, widely observed during the American Revolution, was the first national holiday.
Description
Creating celebrations helped to establish national identity. The Fourth of July, widely observed during the American Revolution, was the first national holiday. It quickly became a day of patriotic symbolism and a tribute to the founding principles of equality and liberty and revolutionary ideals of democracy. For Americans still fighting for those freedoms, the holiday became a day to remind the country of the promise yet to be fulfilled.
associated date
1776 07 04
ID Number
PL.317907.01
catalog number
317907.01
accession number
317907
Zaven Seraidian, an immigrant from Armenia, created this banner in 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial.
Description
Zaven Seraidian, an immigrant from Armenia, created this banner in 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial. According to Seraidian: the Armenian letter for A symbolizes “the beginning” and the letter for B expresses “continuity”; the Armenian cross is a symbol of Christianity brought from the old world to the new; the two American eagles are for strength and victory; and the flag represents independence and liberty from tyrannical oppression.
ID Number
PL.323582.01
catalog number
323582.01
accession number
323582
Suffragists from the National Woman’s Party made smaller versions of the banner used on the 1913 parade’s first float. These "Great Demand" banners were used in demonstrations and rallies and at suffrage headquarters. Marie Gilmer Louthan carried this one in suffrage parades
Description
Suffragists from the National Woman’s Party made smaller versions of the banner used on the 1913 parade’s first float. These "Great Demand" banners were used in demonstrations and rallies and at suffrage headquarters. Marie Gilmer Louthan carried this one in suffrage parades
date made
1914-1917
user
National Woman's Party
maker
National Woman's Party
ID Number
2009.0207.01
catalog number
2009.0207.01
accession number
2009.0207
Throughout the North, Abraham Lincoln supporters organized grand campaign parades in small towns and large cities.
Description
Throughout the North, Abraham Lincoln supporters organized grand campaign parades in small towns and large cities. This hand-painted cotton banner, approximately 47 1/2 inches high and 35 inches wide, was typical of the hundreds of banners produced by local Republican clubs to support Lincoln’s candidacy for the president.
Gift of George L. and Mary E. Compton, 1980
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860
associated person
Hamlin, Hannibal
Lincoln, Abraham
ID Number
1980.0482.12
accession number
1980.0482
catalog number
1980.0482.12

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