Statue of George Washington at entrance to second floor exhibitions

The Nation We Build Together

2 West Press Information

Press Information

Overview

Smithsonian Transforms How Audiences Experience American Democracy

Grand Opening Week: Experience The Nation We Build Together

Exhibitions

American Democracy Exhibition Opens June 28 at the Smithsonian

“Many Voices, One Nation” Exhibition Opens June 28 at the Smithsonian

“Religion in Early America” Exhibition Opens June 28 at Smithsonian

“Within These Walls” Exhibition Has More Stories To Tell June 28

Fact Sheets

American Experiments in the Wallace H. Coulter Unity Square

Greensboro Lunch Counter

Exhibitions

American Democracy button

American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith

What happens when a people decide to govern themselves? America’s national treasures come to life in this compelling exhibition that examines the bold experiment to create a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Eagle statuette, around 1850

Many Voices, One Nation

Many Voices, One Nation takes visitors on a chronological and thematic journey that maps the cultural geography of the unique and complex stories that animate the Latin emblem on the country’s Great Seal and the national ideal: E pluribus unum, Out of many, one.

The Jefferson Bible

Religion in Early America

The role of religion in the formation and development of the United States was at the heart of this one-year exhibition that explored the themes of religious diversity, freedom, and growth from the colonial era through the 1840s.

Within These Walls

Within These Walls

At the center of this gallery is a partially reconstructed house that stood for 200 years at 16 Elm Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts, about 30 miles north of Boston.

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Collections

For Political Reform Yes On 9

Votes For Women

Life Magazine, "Garment Workers at Play," August 1, 1938

Protest poster, "America Why Not Now?"

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From Our Blog

Photo of the Capitol Building from the National Mall, with a person in a military uniform walking in the foreground

The cold morning of the day after

On January 6, my wife and I watched the live news broadcasts in disbelief at the scenes unfolding on television, as a violent mob stormed the U.S.

Debate chairs from the 1960 election

Five things to listen for during a presidential debate

Presidential debates first became part of the campaign landscape when John Kennedy and Richard Nixon sat across from each other in 1960. It took a few years for them to become standardized, but now debates are one of the most anticipated events of every campaign.

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