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: 1930s

U.S. Citizen's Identification Card

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
described
Castro, Rafaela
maker
U.S. Department of Labor
ID Number
2016.0166.01
catalog number
2016.0166.01
accession number
2016.0166

Burroughs Machine for Vote Tabulation

In 1932 Hans Jurgensen, who had been active in Democratic Party politics in Queens, New York, was appointed a tally clerk for the United States House of Representatives.
Description
In 1932 Hans Jurgensen, who had been active in Democratic Party politics in Queens, New York, was appointed a tally clerk for the United States House of Representatives. He and his assistants kept records on how individual members voted on roll call votes for publication in The Congressional Record. They stamped the information by hand, making about 500,000 registrations per year. Jurgensen concluded that a machine could do the work more efficiently, and ordered this modified bookkeeping machine from the Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit.
The machine has eight columns of metal bars that are painted black; each bar covers two key stems. Each column has seven bars labeled: “NVF” (not voting for), “NVA” (not voting against), “NV” (not voting), “AB” (absent), “PR”(present), “NAY”, and “YEA”. A column of keys is labeled the same way. At the top is a row of 17 red zeroing keys. Repeat and error keys are on the right and an operating bar right of them. At the back is a rubber platen and metal carriage. A motor and cord are under the machine.
The machine sits on a black metal stand that fits on a wooden dolly that is painted green and gold. Attached to the stand is a piece of black cloth with snaps. With the wooden kick stand up, it measures: 95 cm. w. x 74 cm. d. x 106 cm. h.
Marks on the back of paper feed, on the kick stand, and on front of machine read: Burroughs. A mark on the front reads: 1A136058.
References:
“Hans Jurgensen, 51, Congressional Aide,” New York Times, June 29, 1945, p. 15. This obituary mentions Jurgensen’s work on the technology of vote tabulation.
“New time saving voting machine designed to [sic] U. S. Capitol Employee,” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress. The Library of Congress dates this photograph to 1938. (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2009015711/).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1978.2371.01
accession number
1978.2371
catalog number
1978.2371.01

Poster, "Save Freedom Of Worship"

In defense of democracies around the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on January 6, 1941, articulated the aims of the nation facing the threat of a world at war.
Description
In defense of democracies around the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on January 6, 1941, articulated the aims of the nation facing the threat of a world at war. “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms” he stated. Two of these freedoms were specifically included in the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Two were freedoms deeply desired by a generation confronted by economic depression and the threat of dictatorships, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Artist Norman Rockwell dramatized those aims in a series of paintings that appeared as covers for the Saturday Evening Post and as posters produced by the Office of War Information for its war bond campaign in 1943.
date made
1940s
artist
Rockwell, Norman
maker
Rockwell, Norman
ID Number
PL.314098.01
accession number
314098
catalog number
314098.01

Bank, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932

The song “Happy Days Are Here Again” from a 1930 movie musical was played at the 1932 Democratic National Convention which nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Description
The song “Happy Days Are Here Again” from a 1930 movie musical was played at the 1932 Democratic National Convention which nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt. Immediately associated with Roosevelt’s campaign, it was the first pre-existing song selected for a presidential campaign theme song. Although the phrase “Happy Days” was likely intended to refer to hopes for the end of the Great Depression, this barrel-shaped bank also brought to bring to mind the repeal of Prohibition which was also associated with the song and endorsed by the 1932 Democratic platform. Economic circumstances and his party’s popular positions helped Roosevelt win his first term in the White House, defeating President Herbert Hoover, the Republican incumbent.
date made
1932
ID Number
1977.0986.01
accession number
1977.0986
catalog number
1977.0986.01

political cartoon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937-02-26
associated date
1937 02 26
associated person
Wheeler
Lewis
maker
Berryman, Clifford
ID Number
PL.322733.099
catalog number
322733.099
accession number
322733

Clock, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934

The clock’s face features a small mechanical figure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt mixing a cocktail, a reference to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
Description
The clock’s face features a small mechanical figure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt mixing a cocktail, a reference to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. He is supported by figures of National Recovery Administration Chairman Hugh Johnson (left) and Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (right).
associated date
1934
depicted (sitter)
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
PL.217442.087
catalog number
217442.087
accession number
217442

typewriter

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1930
Associated Name
Remington Typewriter Company
user
Houston, Jr., Charles Hamilton
maker
Remington
ID Number
2007.0016.02
accession number
2007.0016
catalog number
2007.0016.02

The Puzzled Piper Ponders

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s
1934 - 1940
associated person
Roosevelt
maker
Berryman, Clifford
ID Number
PL.322733.034
catalog number
322733.034
accession number
322733

Adrift at Sea

The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn on white paper about 1932 by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C.
Description
The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn on white paper about 1932 by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C. It depicts Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jouett Shouse, a political conservative, on a raft "adrift at sea" because the Democrats continue to support the liberal Franklin D. Roosevelt for President of the United States. Shouse would not endorse Roosevelt. Shouse is wearing a "Liberty League" hat which signifies his involvement as leader of the Liberty League, a conservative political organization comprising mostly wealthy and prominent businessmen and politicians.
The drawing is signed "Berryman" in the lower right area of the illustration.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 1932
associated date
1932
associated person
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
associated institution
Democratic National Party
Democratic National Committee
depicted (sitter); referenced
Shouse, Jouett
maker
Berryman, Clifford
ID Number
PL.322733.040
catalog number
322733.040

Franklin Roosevelt Campaign Medal

This presidential campaign medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1932.The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
This presidential campaign medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1932.The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, and campaign medals.
Obverse: Profiles of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner, with the legend: A NEW DAY A NEW DEAL/FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT/JOHN N. GARNER.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1932
depicted
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Garner, John N.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1314
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1314

NOTICE, Deductions from Pay Start Jan. 1

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1936
associated date
1937-01-01
1935-08-14
referenced; publisher
Social Security Board
referenced
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
2004.0180.138
accession number
2004.0180
catalog number
2004.0180.138

political cartoon

The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn on white paper by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C. circa 1930. It depicts Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York and Governor Albert C.
Description
The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn on white paper by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C. circa 1930. It depicts Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York and Governor Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland, each reportedly hoping to win the Democratic nomination for President if the party did not elect Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson of Arkansas. Robinson is depicted as a chick emerging from an egg. According to some news reports at the time, both Governors denied expressing interest.in seeking the nomination. The drawing is signed "Berryman" in the lower right area of the illustration.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 1930
associated date
1932
depicted
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Ritchie, Albert C.
referenced
Robinson, Joseph T.
associated
Democratic Party
maker
Berryman, Clifford
ID Number
PL.322733.035
catalog number
322733.035
accession number
322733

John L. Lewis' Union Badge

John L. Lewis, one of America's foremost labor leaders, wore this badge at the 1936 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) convention. It is a metal gold-colored pin with "President" printed in blue. A red, white, and blue ribbon attaches badge to pin.
Description
John L. Lewis, one of America's foremost labor leaders, wore this badge at the 1936 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) convention. It is a metal gold-colored pin with "President" printed in blue. A red, white, and blue ribbon attaches badge to pin. The badge features a gold-colored relief of the U.S. Capitol Building with an eagle perched on a shield. “UMW ORG 1890” is printed in blue at the bottom.
Born in an Iowa coal-mining camp, Lewis went to work in the mines as a teenager. He rose quickly as a labor leader, becoming president of the UMWA in 1920, and later helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Lewis led a successful struggle to organize industrial workers, improving wages, safety, and benefits.
associated date
1936
referenced
United Mine Workers of America
associated person
Lewis, John L.
maker
United Mine Workers of America
ID Number
1989.0693.3777
catalog number
1989.0693.3777
accession number
1989.0693

Governor Thomas E. Dewey being sworn into office

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950-12-31
depicted (sitter)
Dewey, Thomas E.
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0776
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0776

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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

Vice Admiral Alan G. Kirk

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
ID Number
2013.0327.1162
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1162

Booklet, "Second Report Un-American Activities in California 1945" Report of the Joint Fact-Finding Committee to the Fifty-fifth California Legislature, Sacramento, 1945

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
ID Number
2016.3086.244
nonaccession number
2016.3086
catalog number
2016.3086.244

"Migrant Mother," by Dorothea Lange

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

Franklin Roosevelt Campaign Medal

This presidential campaign medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1932. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
This presidential campaign medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1932. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, and campaign medals.
Obverse: Profiles of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner, with the legend: A NEW DAY A NEW DEAL/FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT/JOHN N. GARNER.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1932
depicted
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Garner, John N.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1152
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1152

James A. Farley and Jack Dempsey

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936-11-03
depicted (sitter)
Farley, James A.
Dempsey, Jack
maker
Acme Photo
ID Number
2013.0327.1272
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1272

Elect Grace Overmire

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
associated date
1932
ID Number
1992.0224.69
catalog number
1992.0224.69
accession number
1992.0224

President Roosevelt signs declaration of war against Japan

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1941-12
depicted (sitter)
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
2013.0327.1153
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1153

NBC "Fireside Chat" Microphone

"I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking." So began on March 12, 1933, the first of about thirty informal "Fireside Chat" addresses that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would deliver over the radio.
Description
"I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking." So began on March 12, 1933, the first of about thirty informal "Fireside Chat" addresses that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would deliver over the radio. His ability to communicate over this new medium directly and personally, addressing each listener as a respected friend, gave FDR a powerful tool to shape public opinion.
On March 4, 1933 Roosevelt became the 32nd president of the United States. No chief executive, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, entered the White House confronted by such deep and troubling crises. The nation was mired in its longest and worst economic depression. Approximately a quarter of the work force was unemployed, industrial production was down by a third, and the banking system was collapsing. Internationally the economic crisis contributed to the rise of fascist governments in Europe and eventually World War II. A pragmatist and master politician, FDR boldly experimented with the power of the federal government to address the urgent problems facing the nation. Above all else, Roosevelt's greatest accomplishment was his ability to lead, inspire and assure Americans through some of the darkest years in the nation's history.
President Roosevelt was always rather amused that the name "Fireside Chat" was used to describe all the radio chats he would give during the course of his administration. He used to joke about the Washington weather, saying that it really wasn't proper for a fireside chat.
On the night of the first "Fireside Chat," the microphones were set up in the Lincoln Study. All subsequent chats were held in the Diplomatic Reception Room on the ground floor of the White House. This first night of the Fireside Chat launched a new era of the Presidency whereby the power of mass communications would be used to engage and reassure the American people.
The museum acquired this RCA Type 50-A microphone with the National Broadcasting Company logos on the top and sides in 1996. For many years it had been saved by Carleton Smith, who both set up the microphone for NBC and introduced the radio broadcasts.
Location
Currently not on view
date used
1930s
used date
1930s
associated person
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
depicted
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
user
Smith, Sr., Carleton
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
ID Number
1996.0168.01
accession number
1996.0168
catalog number
1996.0168.01

Poster, "Save Freedom of Speech"

In defense of democracies around the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on January 6, 1941, articulated the aims of the nation facing the threat of a world at war.
Description
In defense of democracies around the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on January 6, 1941, articulated the aims of the nation facing the threat of a world at war. “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms” he stated. Two of these freedoms were specifically included in the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Two were freedoms deeply desired by a generation confronted by economic depression and the threat of dictatorships, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Artist Norman Rockwell dramatized those aims in a series of paintings that appeared as covers for the Saturday Evening Post and as posters produced by the Office of War Information for its war bond campaign in 1943.
date made
1940s
artist
Rockwell, Norman
ID Number
PL.314098.04
catalog number
314098.04
accession number
314098

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