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.

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
A poster with the State of California's "Voter's Bill of Rights"Currently not on view
Description
A poster with the State of California's "Voter's Bill of Rights"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 2014
associated date
2014
ID Number
2016.0023.01
catalog number
2016.0023.01
accession number
2016.0023
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
This briefcase was used by economist Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences “for his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy.” President Ro
Description
This briefcase was used by economist Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences “for his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy.” President Ronald Reagan based much of his economic policy during the 1980s on Friedman’s economic arguments. Friedman taught at the University of Chicago for over thirty years and advised many politicians. The Economist considered him “the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century.”
date made
2004
1994 - 2004
user
Friedman, Milton
ID Number
2001.0072.01
accession number
2001.0072
catalog number
2001.0072.01
This badge was worn by economist Milton Friedman when he received the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Description
This badge was worn by economist Milton Friedman when he received the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
date made
1976
user
Friedman, Milton
ID Number
2001.0072.05
accession number
2001.0072
catalog number
2001.0072.05
This Thai passport was seized in the well-publicized 1995 El Monte, Calif., sweatshop raid.
Description
This Thai passport was seized in the well-publicized 1995 El Monte, Calif., sweatshop raid. The passport is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation (72 workers were discovered working as slaves). With a legitimate U.S. visa, the passport looks official. In fact, the El Monte operators doctored a real passport, inserting a new photo into someone else's document, in order to smuggle workers into the country.
Recruited from Thailand, the El Monte workers were tricked into accepting employment by misrepresentations of their future working and living conditions. They were told they would sew in a clean factory, receive good pay, and have the weekends off. They were even shown photographs of company parties and outings to Disneyland. After signing contracts (indenture agreements) committing themselves to repay 120,000 baht (about $5,000 in 1997 dollars), they were smuggled into the United States on fraudulent passports.
On arrival, the sweatshop operators confiscated the passports and the workers were forced to sew 18 hours a day seven days a week. The debt, a guard force, and threats of physical harm to the workers and their families in Thailand discouraged them from escaping. Although the physical confinement of the work force was unusual, many aspects of the business, such as recruiting and smuggling workers, are relatively common. Less enslaving forms of debt peonage occur surprisingly often in some Asian immigrant communities.
Sweatshops occur in many sectors of manufacturing, but are most often associated with the garment industry. While garments are designed and marketed through big name companies, assembly is often left to contract and sub-contract operations. In these small shops, where profits are razor thin and competition is excessive, abuses are rampant.
date made
1992
ID Number
1997.0268.01
accession number
1997.0268
catalog number
1997.0268.01
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
ca 1944-1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1156
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1156
Spiro Agnew was Richard Nixon’s running mate in 1968 and 1972. Hale E.
Description
Spiro Agnew was Richard Nixon’s running mate in 1968 and 1972. Hale E. Dougherty designed the original Spiro Agnew wristwatch in response to a common joke on college campuses in the early 1970s: “Did you know that Mickey Mouse wore a Spiro Agnew watch?” First manufactured by the Dirty Time Company, the popularity of the watch led to production of a number of knockoffs. Vice President Agnew initially liked the watch but, as it became known more as a joke than as a sign of support, he sued to prevent its sale. The case was settled out of court.
referenced
Agnew, Spiro T.
ID Number
PL.291792.01
catalog number
291792.01
accession number
291792
To the tune of the "Star Spangled Banner", this postcard celebrates the first five states to grant full suffrage: Wyoming (1869), Colorado (1893), Utah (1896), Idaho (1896), and Washington (1910). At the same time it looks forward to a coming (successful) vote in California.
Description
To the tune of the "Star Spangled Banner", this postcard celebrates the first five states to grant full suffrage: Wyoming (1869), Colorado (1893), Utah (1896), Idaho (1896), and Washington (1910). At the same time it looks forward to a coming (successful) vote in California. California granted woman suffrage in 1911.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association began a postcard campaign in 1910, partly to raise awareness of the cause and partly as a fundraiser. The cards could be funny, serious, or sentimental. Some employed powerful patriotic symbols and logical arguments to make their case for woman’s right to vote.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PL.257500.17
catalog number
257500.17
accession number
257500
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 1910
ID Number
PL.242991.043
A poster advertising the boycott of wines made in Modesto, California along with any non United Farm Workers lettuce and grapes.Currently not on view
Description
A poster advertising the boycott of wines made in Modesto, California along with any non United Farm Workers lettuce and grapes.
Location
Currently not on view
associated person
Chavez, Cesar
associated institution
United Farm Workers
ID Number
PL.321648.29
catalog number
321648.29
accession number
321648
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
associated date
1977
ID Number
1978.0472.03.a
accession number
1978.0472
catalog number
1978.0472.03.a
This poster, critical of immigration policy, was used at the Tea Party rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2010.
Description
This poster, critical of immigration policy, was used at the Tea Party rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2010.
date made
2010-04-15
04-15-2010
used date
2010-04-15
user
Tea Party Patriots Inc.
referenced
Congress of the United States
Immigration and Naturalization Service
State of California
State of New Mexico
Republic of Texas
maker
Tea Party Patriots Inc.
ID Number
2010.0068.03
catalog number
2010.0068.03
accession number
2010.0068
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1996
maker
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
ID Number
2007.0195.01
catalog number
2007.0195.01
accession number
2007.0195
San Francisco poet, artist, and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti was an influential figure of the 1950s Beat Generation and the social revolution of the 1960s. In 1956 he was arrested and tried on obscenity charges for publishing and selling Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl.
Description
San Francisco poet, artist, and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti was an influential figure of the 1950s Beat Generation and the social revolution of the 1960s. In 1956 he was arrested and tried on obscenity charges for publishing and selling Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl. This landmark case established a key legal precedent for the publication of controversial literary pieces. His victory expanded the right to free speech and opened the way for an explosion of new works that tested the boundaries of literary expression.
referenced
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence
maker
Remington Typewriter Company
Remington Typewriter Company
ID Number
2011.0054.01
accession number
2011.0054
catalog number
2011.0054.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
Nixon, Richard M.
maker
Columbia Wholesale Supply
ID Number
2006.0171.01
accession number
2006.0171
catalog number
20006.0171.01
date made
c 2014-11-04
Associated Date
c 2014-11-04
maker
unknown
ID Number
2017.3059.03
catalog number
2017.3059.03
nonaccession number
2017.3059
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1990
maker
Polaroid Corporation
ID Number
2018.0157.01
accession number
2018.0157
catalog number
2018.0157.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 1980
referenced
Reagan, Ronald Wilson
ID Number
2018.0001.08
accession number
2018.0001
catalog number
2018.0001.08
Date made
1996
associated dates
1996 / 1996
1996 / 1996
user
Rock the Vote
publisher
Rock the Vote
ID Number
1996.0113.01
catalog number
1996.0113.01
accession number
1996.0113
UFW leader Cesar Chavez organized a nationwide boycott against California grape growers demanding higher wages and better living and working conditions for migrant farm workers.Currently not on view
Description
UFW leader Cesar Chavez organized a nationwide boycott against California grape growers demanding higher wages and better living and working conditions for migrant farm workers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 1960s
depicted
Chavez, Cesar
affiliated union
Lithographers and Photoengravers International Union
maker
Lithographers and Photoengravers International Union
ID Number
1996.0250.02
catalog number
1996.0250.02
accession number
1996.0250
Margaret Chase Smith, member of House of Representatives from Maine, 1940-1949 and a Senator from Maine 1949-1973, was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1964.Currently not on view
Description
Margaret Chase Smith, member of House of Representatives from Maine, 1940-1949 and a Senator from Maine 1949-1973, was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1964.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964
associated date
1964
associated person
Smith, Margaret
associated institution
Republican National Party
ID Number
ZZ.RSN82585Y15
Photograph: A bracero places heads of lettuce in a Toro lettuce box in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: A bracero places heads of lettuce in a Toro lettuce box in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.34.15
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.34.15

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