Think of Female Wartime Participants This Memorial Day

Mary Walker, Civil War Surgeon. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

This Memorial Day, take time to remember the actions some of the women in your family.  Mary Walker was the only woman in her class at the Syracuse Medical School. She graduated in 1855 and married another physician in 1856. She was a woman ahead of her times. Mary kept her maiden name after marriage and usually wore this utilitarian outfit of pants with a short dress.  This style of reform dress was considered healthier for women, but it must have been useful when tending soldiers injured in battle.  When Mary tried to enlist for the Civil War, she was rejected.  She volunteered instead serving as a surgeon.  Mary Walker earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for that service.

Tags: american history, civil war, Mary Walker, Women
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Weekend at the Museum: The Way We Worked

The holiday season is the time of giving.  It is also the time for us to appreciate our lives and be grateful for what we have.  This week I share with you the transformation of the workplace from the mid-19th to late 20th century.  The photographs in this exhibit document clothing, locales, conditions and conflicts experienced  in workplaces over time.  This National Archives exhibit honors the men and women who built this country and the distinctiveness of America’s workforce.  Click on the image below to visit the online exhibit.

Tags: american history, american history photographs, american workers, old photographs, the national archives, workforce history, working conditions
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Weekend at the Museum: First Ladies at the Smithsonian

With all the political excitement that the month of November brings, I thought this would be a good time to share this exhibit with you.  The live exhibition at the Smithsonian is one of the museum’s most visited.  It features 24 dresses worn by First Ladies including the one worn by Michelle Obama.

You can also view the collection online at the Smithsonian’s website.  According to the site, the main gallery displays 14 dresses worn by Grace Coolidge, Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Helen Taft while the new “A First Lady’s Debut” gallery includes 11 gowns worn by first ladies from Mamie Eisenhower to Michelle Obama.

Visit the online exhibit HERE

Tags: american history, american politics, first ladies, national museum of american history, president wives, smithsonian
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Weekend at the Museum: Portrait of Black Chicago

“From June through October 1973 and briefly during the spring of 1974, John H. White, a 28-year-old photographer with the Chicago Daily News, worked for the federal government photographing Chicago, especially the city`s African American community.”

The online exhibit, found HERE, shows pictures that White took for the EPA’s DOCUMERICA project 1971-77. The project paid photographers $150 plus expenses to go out and capture “subjects of environmental concern.” It presents a rich documentary of scenery and suburban sprawl, life on Indian reservations, small Midwestern towns and inner cities. The photographers of these images received full credit for their work in this government program.

I encourage you to visit the online exhibit and experience the awesome work of John H. White who was tasked with photographing Chicago in 1977. He won numerous awards for his work. The most prestigious award being the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1982.

Tags: african american photography, american history, chicago history, chicago photography, clack america, documerica, EPA
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Weekend at the Museum – Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian

Julia Child (1912-2004) was one of America’s favorite chefs. She introduced French cooking to main stream American dining. When Julia moved to California in 2001, she donated her home kitchen from Cambridge, MA to the museum. The kitchen exhibit includes everything… the cabinets, appliances, cookbooks, kitchen table and hundreds of utensils. The exhibit gives viewers an inside look at the working kitchen of one of the most well-known cooks of our time.

The physical exhibit is on-going at the museum. However, for those who can not see it in person, the Smithsonian has created an online experience as well. The online exhibit has photos, a blog with a recipe of the week, news about the kitchen and videos of Julia sharing her “kitchen wisdom.”

To view the exhibit, CLICK HERE

Tags: american history, cooking, julia child, museum exhibits, online exhibits, recipies, smithsonian
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Weekend at the Museum: Documented Rights

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

For the first time The National Archives and Records Administration has accumulated these historical “Documented Rights ” resources from around the country for you to see in one place…

Many of the holdings of the National Archives can be found in regions across the US, including court records, naturalization records, ships’ passenger arrival records, and federal land records.

You can visit the exhibit in person from September 2010-February 2011 at The National Archives at Kansas City, 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. Or you can enter the online exhibit HERE. Either way, you’ll be sure to enjoy it.

Tags: american history, historical documents, national museum of american history, preservation
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Weekend at the Museum: Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War

The National Museum of American History has a great online exhibit focused on Nuclear-powered submarines that played major roles in American policy and strategy since the 1950s.

Introduction to the Exhibit:

“From the end of World War II in 1945 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War dominated international affairs. It was a global struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the Cold War was sometimes fought on the battlefield, it involved everything from political rhetoric to sports. Overshadowing all was the threat of nuclear war.”

This exhibit is no longer on view at the museum. But the online exhibit giving viewers an inside look at submarine and cold war history, construction and anatomy of submarines, weapons, life ashore and much more, can be found HERE.

Tags: american history, cold war, military history, submarines
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Weekend at the Museum – Every Four Years: Electing a President

Every four years Americans go to the polls to elect their President. The campaign for President is steeped in tradition, combining ritual, celebration, marketing and bombast, all leading up to Election Day when citizens enter the voting booth to exercise their solemn right to choose their leaders. The President and Vice President are the only officials chosen by all the nation’s voters. The stakes are high, and the election results shape the course of the nation for the next four years.

This exhibition examines Presidential elections, with a particular emphasis on elections in the last 80 years when radio and television brought these campaigns into the living rooms of homes across America.

Topics Include:

• The Prize: The Power of the Presidency
• The Candidates: Party Conventions
• The Chase: Political Campaigning
• The Image: Marketing the Candidates
• The Choice: Election Day
• The Coronation: Inaugurating the President

CHECK OUT THE TRUMAN LIBRARY WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE EXHIBIT

Tags: american history, election process, executive branch, government, presidential election
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Weekend at the Museum: Mapping Colonial America

History.org has an online exhibit called Mapping Colonial America.  The interactive display takes you through a chronological tour of colonial maps from the Colonial Williamsburg’s collection dated from 1587 to 1782.

The online exhibition looks at maps relating to colonial discovery, exploration, boundary disputes, navigation, trade, the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War. The exhibition features a zooming tool allowing a close look at map details, a glossary of terms, and a timeline of major events in history that occurred near the date a particular map was drawn.

Visit the exhibit HERE

Tags: american history, civil war, colonial america, maps
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National Museum of American History – July 1942: United We Stand

The Smithsonian featured an exhibit reflecting on the slogan “United we stand.”  It was really cool.  Marking the 60th anniversary of the United We Stand campaign, the museum had over 100 original magazine covers presented.  Even if you missed the live exhibit, there is a great online tour with the history of the campaign and a gallery of covers.  Here’s a little insight into the exhibit from the website.

“DURING JULY 1942, seven months after the United States entered World War II, magazines nationwide featured the American flag on their covers. Adopting the slogan United We Stand, some five hundred publications waved the stars and stripes to promote national unity, rally support for the war, and celebrate Independence Day.

FOR MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS, displaying the flag was a way to prove their loyalty and value to the war effort. For the U.S. government, the campaign was an opportunity to sell bonds and boost morale. The magazines brought home a message of patriotism and ideals worth fighting for.” READ MORE HERE

Tags: american flag, american history, old magazine campaigns, smithsonian, united we stand
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