Exhibitions
Keeping History: Plains Indian Ledger Drawings
November 13, 2009 through January 31, 2009
Explore drawings by late 19th century Plains Indain warriors detailing their histories as warriors, hunters, prisoners, and students.
Upcoming Exhibitions
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Opens February 12, 2010
George Washington to David Stuart, November 30, 1785
On November 30, 1785 George Washington wrote to David Stuart, a trusted associate and stepfather to Washington’s grandchildren.
“If we consider ourselves, or wish to be considered by Others as a United people, why not adopt the measures that are characteristic of it—Act as a Nation. . .”
Through an examination of this letter the exhibition reveals Washington's active role in the political debates of the day leading up to the Constitutional Convention. The letter remained in the Stuart family until last year, when through a donation of Dr. Peter Buck, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History acquired the document. This is the first time this letter has been on public display.
Past Exhibitions
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July 10 – October 11, 2009
Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian Trail
Earl Shaffer was the first person to walk the entire Appalachian Trail in one continuous hike. Shaffer had no expert advice, no previous footsteps to follow, or even guidebooks to help him. At the time, experts on the Appalachian Trail believed that a hike of the entire Trail was impossible. Shaffer started his walk in April 1948 at Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia, and completed the Trail four months later at Maine’s Mount Katahdin. Shaffer kept a diary, along with photographs taken along the way, to prove to skeptics that he had really accomplished what he claimed. This exhibition features photographs taken along the trail, Shaffer’s diary from the 1948 hike, and maps he used. The exhibition also covers the conception and development of the Appalachian Trail and its larger cultural and environmental impact.
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April 4 – June 28, 2009
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers
Since the earliest days of jazz, composers have worked, sometimes off stage and behind the scenes, to help create a repertory for the performers to play. Two of the greatest composers of jazz were Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967), and they collaborated on hundreds of works. This exhibition examined two jazz standards, each the most-recorded piece by its composer(s): Caravan, composed in 1936 by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol, and Take the “A” Train, composed in 1941 by Billy Strayhorn. The exhibition opening was timed to coincide with Jazz Appreciation Month in April 2009.
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January 16, 2009 – March 22, 2009
America’s New Birth of Freedom
As part of its Abraham Lincoln commemoration, the Museum hosted an exhibition of ten rare and important documents from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The display included a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and letters expressing Lincoln's views toward emancipation and the conclusion of the Civil War. These documents have become the cornerstone of current thinking on Lincoln and his legacy. Included in the exhibition was Lincoln's letter to long-time friend James C. Conkling in which he makes his forceful defense of the Emancipation Proclamation and his letter to Francis Blair, Lincoln's unofficial conduit to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, on his unwavering demands for peace.
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November 21, 2008 – January 11, 2009
The Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln's short address at the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, battlefield is one of the most eloquent political speeches in American history. Its inspiring message remains as meaningful today as when first delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. Read about the history of the Address, the White House copy of the document, and watch a video about the restoration of the Lincoln Bedroom, where the artifact is normally housed.