2016 elections – Patriots Tickets

Philip J. Schuyler – An Election Time Opportunity To Reflect

2016-03-03

With the insanity of the primaries taking over the minds and media of our nation, I wanted to step back and explore a bit of America’s early history. Visiting the Schuyler Mansion was the perfect place to do this. The mansion brought me back to the roots of America: the Revolutionary War general Philip J. …

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Patriots & History

Donald Duck: An American Diplomat? 2019-04-11

Every April, people throughout North, Central, and South America celebrate Pan American Day. The roots of Pan American Day go back to 1890, when the First International Conference of American States convened to establish the International Union of American Republics, an organization that would strengthen the bonds of friendship, mutual understanding, and respect for diverse […]

When the dandelion went to war: An American prisoner of war's story 2019-04-09

“We were picking dandelions on the lawn there and we would boil them up,” Henry T. Chamberlain remembered. During the Great Depression, Chamberlain’s mother lost her job and couldn’t pay rent. The family moved to the grounds of the Nebraska Territory capitol building (now Omaha Central High School). “There were a million people living on […]

How Evelyn Lauder took on breast cancer at the cosmetics counter 2019-03-18

They had just arrived in a foreign country and the small girl’s mother was sent away. Ernest and Mimi Hausner fled their home in Vienna in 1938, when little Evelyn was just a toddler. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria, putting the lives of Jews like the Hausners at risk. They made it to England as refugees, […]

The hidden tractor 2019-03-15

The National Museum of American History has a staggering 1.8 million objects in the collections. It isn’t possible for one person to know all the artifacts, but, as a curator of agricultural history, I am proud to be very familiar with the museum’s 14 full-sized tractors. Not only do these incredible objects help us explore […]

A Scout By Any Other Name 2019-03-11

In May 2018, the Boy Scouts of America changed the name of its program for older children to Scouts BSA and opened membership to girls for the first time. Girl Scouts of the USA initially responded to the change by emphasizing the unique nature of its program for girls. However, in November 2018 Girl Scouts […]

The unforgettably forgettable president: A look at Mr. Buchanan 2019-02-25

James Buchanan. Do you recognize this name? According to TIME magazine’s “Top 10 Forgettable Presidents,” you probably don’t. Chances are, if you do recognize it, you remember Buchanan as one of the worst leaders to live in the White House. And, as he ranks number 43 in at least one recent survey of presidential greatness, […]

Bringing the outdoors in . . . one squirrel at a time 2018-12-17

Squirrels seem to be everywhere until you need a few for your Buttermilk Fried Squirrel recipe.On stage at Smithsonian Food History Weekend, Chef Jason Flores and I shared Oklahoma-style cooking and storiesAs the Food History Team pondered the roster for the 2018 Food History Weekend cooking demonstrations, we knew we wanted to feature a chef […]

“Hyperlocal, ultraseasonal, uber-healthy, and utterly delicious”: Reviving indigenous food cultures 2018-12-17

When Chef Sean Sherman began speaking about his experiences growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, he shattered all-too-common stereotypes of indigenous life in 20th-century America. He jokingly noted that some people expect to hear how he hunted buffalo with his slingshot as a kid, but that romanticized myth of American Indian […]

America's Kaiser: How a pigeon served in two World Wars 2018-12-04

Souvenirs from battlefields the world over can be found in our Division of Political and Military History. Unique among them is a mounted German pigeon. His name is Kaiser, and his story is unique in the annals of military homing pigeon history. He would become one of the longest-held prisoners of war in American history […]

The Ruby Slippers have company; Glinda's wand on loan for temporary display 2018-12-04

The museum's pair of Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz returned to display on October 19, 2018, after spending time in the museum's Conservation Lab.In a memorable scene from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West tries to retrieve the Ruby Slippers off the feet of her dead […]