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.

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Richard Nixon campaign pin in 1968. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Richard Nixon campaign pin in 1968. Scovill 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, medals, and pins.
The circular white button bears the text “NIXON” in red and “AGNEW” in blue. The button has a pin on the back, allowing it to be worn. Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew successfully ran for President and Vice President on the Republican ticket in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
referenced
Nixon, Richard M.
Agnew, Spiro T.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1301
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1301
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Hubert Humphrey Presidential campaign pin in 1968. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Hubert Humphrey Presidential campaign pin in 1968. Scovill 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, medals, coins, and tokens.
The circular white button bears the logo of three interlocking blue “H”s and the text “Humphrey” in red. The button has a pin on the back, allowing it to be worn. Humphrey unsuccessfully ran for President on the Democratic ticket in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
referenced
Humphrey, Hubert H.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1300
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1300
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this campaign pin around 1968. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this campaign pin around 1968. Scovill 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, medals, coins, and pins.
This circular white button bears the text “NIXON’S THE ONE!” in red. The button has a pin on the back, allowing it to be worn. Richard Nixon successfully ran for President on the Republican ticket in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
referenced
Nixon, Richard M.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1299
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1299
This flyswatter decorated with the symbol of the Republican Party was donated to the museum by the Republican National Committee following the 1960 presidential election.
Description
This flyswatter decorated with the symbol of the Republican Party was donated to the museum by the Republican National Committee following the 1960 presidential election. In that contest, Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee, lost to his Democratic opponent, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
date made
1960
associated institution
Republican National Party
associated
Republican National Committee
ID Number
PL.235650.155
catalog number
235650.55
accession number
235650
This bronze tie clip was modeled after PT-109, the boat that young Lieutenant John F. Kennedy skippered in the South Pacific during the Second World War. When a Japanese destroyer rammed the boat, Kennedy acted to save his crew.
Description
This bronze tie clip was modeled after PT-109, the boat that young Lieutenant John F. Kennedy skippered in the South Pacific during the Second World War. When a Japanese destroyer rammed the boat, Kennedy acted to save his crew. The dramatic story of the rescue was widely distributed by Kennedy’s congressional campaign in 1946. PT-109 became a symbol of perseverance and courage.
During Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign, a flood of PT boat souvenirs appeared, from plastic bathtub toys to pin-back buttons, including the candidate’s own PT-109 tie clip. After Kennedy’s death in 1963, his longtime secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, gave this bronze tie clip to Smithsonian curator Herbert R. Collins from a supply she kept for herself. Lincoln told him that a supply of bronze clips had been produced for Kennedy to give away as souvenirs. Five were modeled in gold for him to wear. Despite the cautions of his staff to not distribute the gold ones, he gave them away with the bronze ones.
Gift of Mrs. Evelyn N. Lincoln, 1964
date made
ca 1960
associated person
Kennedy, John F.
ID Number
PL.254858.02
catalog number
254858.02
accession number
254858
In 1968, Democratic presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey was the sitting vice president when he lost a very close election to his Republican challenger Richard Nixon. Nixon had also been vice president when he lost his first presidential race in 1960.Currently not on view
Description
In 1968, Democratic presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey was the sitting vice president when he lost a very close election to his Republican challenger Richard Nixon. Nixon had also been vice president when he lost his first presidential race in 1960.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
referenced
Humphrey, Hubert H.
ID Number
PL.227739.1968.B22
In 1960, the Bucyrus-Erie Company of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, presented this 14-inch-high, scale model of what was to become the world's largest stripping shovel to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Description
In 1960, the Bucyrus-Erie Company of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, presented this 14-inch-high, scale model of what was to become the world's largest stripping shovel to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Later that year, the President transferred this gift to the Smithsonian Institution. The Bucyrus-Erie Company had custom-designed this monster machine for the Peabody Coal Company. Bucyrus-Erie engineers anticipated that they would need two years to manufacture the behemoth, and an additional six months to assemble it at the site of the open-pit mine. (They planned to ship the machine's parts in over 250 railcars.) When finished, the shovel would weigh 7,000 tons, soar to the roofline of a 20-story building (some 220 feet high), and be able to extend its enormous 115-cubic-yard dipper over 460 feet, or about the length of an average city block. (The dipper's capacity would equal that of about six stand-sized dump trucks.) Fifty electric motors-ranging from 1/4 to 3,000 horsepower-would power the shovel, which was designed to be controlled by a single operator, perched in a cab five stories high. Publicists for Bucyrus-Erie called this the "largest self-powered mobile land vehicle ever built."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
recipient
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
maker
Bucyrus-Erie Company
ID Number
MC.317688
catalog number
317688
accession number
231557
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1963
associated person
Kennedy, John F
ID Number
1982.0408.162
accession number
1982.0408
catalog number
1982.0408.162
Fold out advertisement for custom campaign novelties distributed by Art Display Service, Inc. in 1956.
Description
Fold out advertisement for custom campaign novelties distributed by Art Display Service, Inc. in 1956.
date made
1964
ID Number
1982.3022.092
nonaccession number
1982.3022
catalog number
1982.3022.092
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty (1963–68) had a major impact on the racial and ethnic composition of the workforce. Increasingly many individuals found fewer racial barriers to higher-paying manufacturing and white-collar jobs.
Description
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty (1963–68) had a major impact on the racial and ethnic composition of the workforce. Increasingly many individuals found fewer racial barriers to higher-paying manufacturing and white-collar jobs. Rather than falling victim to laboring in apparel sweatshops, some workers turned to alternatives in the service industries or even public assistance.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1963
associated date
1963
ID Number
1989.0486.021
catalog number
1989.0486.21
accession number
1989.0486
In the 1960s, under the leadership of Lowell T.
Description
In the 1960s, under the leadership of Lowell T. Harmison (1937-2011), a biotechnologist with a PhD from the University of Maryland, the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) developed an artificial heart and implanted examples in several calves. This example is functional mockup of that device.
Ref: Harold M. Schmeck, Jr., “Full Implanted Heart Devices Are Keeping 4 Calves Grazing,” New York Times (Oct. 20, 1969), p. 23.
Lowell T. Harmison and Frank W. Hastings, Artificial Heart Program in Applied Health R/D (Bethesda, Md., [1970]).
Lowell T. Harmison, “Totally Implantable Artificial Replacement Heart,” U.S. Patent 3,919,722 (Nov. 18, 1975).
Shelley McKellar, Artificial Hearts: The Allure and Ambivalence of a Controversial Medical Technology (Baltimore, 2018).
A functional mock up of a totally implantable artificial heart. Displayed on a wooden base covered with a sheet of metal with the battery in the middle of the display. Finally there is a monitor encased in a wood box, on a little pedestal. The monitor has a small screen and various knobs and switches. There are two rows of little lights marked Up/ Hold/ Down for monitoring heart rate. The mock-up was developed by Lowell T. Harmison, Ph.D., (1937-2011). He was the Director of the Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health from 1967 to 1974.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1969
date(s) of previous ownership
1985-03-28
maker
Harmison, Lowell T.
ID Number
1985.0329.03
accession number
1985.0329
catalog number
1985.0329.03
Published soon after the August, 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," this book captures the spirit and unity of the organizers and participants of what was the largest civil rights demonstration in our nation's history up to that time.
Description
Published soon after the August, 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," this book captures the spirit and unity of the organizers and participants of what was the largest civil rights demonstration in our nation's history up to that time.
date made
1963
depicted
King, Jr., Martin Luther
Wilkins, Roy
Fauntroy, Walter
Lewis, John
Randolph, A. Philip
ID Number
1989.0603.09
catalog number
1989.0603.09
accession number
1989.0603
Made during the Harvard University student anti-war protest and sit-in of the administration building, 1968–1969.
Description
Made during the Harvard University student anti-war protest and sit-in of the administration building, 1968–1969.
date made
late 1960s
ID Number
1985.0363.01
accession number
1985.0363
catalog number
1985.0363.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1963 08 28
ID Number
PL.251855.03
catalog number
251855.03
Is freedom from want the right of all Americans? What responsibility does the nation have to provide employment to its citizens? In response to economic crisis, at times the government has enacted massive employment programs.
Description
Is freedom from want the right of all Americans? What responsibility does the nation have to provide employment to its citizens? In response to economic crisis, at times the government has enacted massive employment programs. One such program, the Works Progress Administration, employed as many as eight million people during the depression of the 1930s. Federal legislation enacted in 1964 led to the establishment of the Office of Economic Opportunity as part of the “War on Poverty.”
associated date
1968
1965
associated institution
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
ID Number
PL.279881.3.a
catalog number
279881.3.a
accession number
279881
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1961
ID Number
PL.234793.01
catalog number
234793.01
accession number
234793
A poster from 1960 encouraging citizens to vote. Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was an Irish statesman and philosopher. He served in the British House of Commons from 1766-1794.
Description
A poster from 1960 encouraging citizens to vote. Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was an Irish statesman and philosopher. He served in the British House of Commons from 1766-1794. Amongst other things, he critized the British government's actions against the American colonies.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
associated date
1960
ID Number
PL.236121.22
catalog number
236121.22
accession number
236121
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1963 08 28
ID Number
PL.251855.04c
catalog number
251855.04
accession number
251855
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1963-1964
related
Congress of Racial Equality
ID Number
PL.259949.15
catalog number
259949.15
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1963 08 28
ID Number
PL.251855.02c
catalog number
251855.02c
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
distributor
League of Women Voters
ID Number
PL.294057.40
accession number
294057
catalog number
294057.40
Supporters of the Kennedy-Johnson Presidential ticket wore these hats at the 1960 Democratic convention where John Kennedy spoke of his goals as the beginning of a "New Frontier."Currently not on view
Description
Supporters of the Kennedy-Johnson Presidential ticket wore these hats at the 1960 Democratic convention where John Kennedy spoke of his goals as the beginning of a "New Frontier."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
associated person
Kennedy, John F.
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines)
ID Number
PL.236133.04b
catalog number
236133.04b
accession number
236133
“Swell” bubblegum cigars manufactured by the Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation promoted almost all major presidential candidates from 1964 to 2000.
Description
“Swell” bubblegum cigars manufactured by the Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation promoted almost all major presidential candidates from 1964 to 2000. Usually priced at just a nickel, the cigars were offered individually, in 6-packs, and in bi-partisan boxes like this for “presidential favorites” Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater. In 1964, President Johnson, the incumbent Democrat, defeated Goldwater, a Republican senator from Arizona.
date made
1964
1964
associated person
Goldwater, Barry
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines)
ID Number
PL.257186.01
catalog number
257186.01
accession number
257186
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 badge was worn by census administrators in 1960.
date made
1960
ID Number
PL.235937.01g
accession number
235937
catalog number
235937.01g

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