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

Rea Ann Silva: The woman behind Beautyblender 2020-11-20

While the iconic egg-shaped Beautyblender sponge is wildly popular and used by makeup professionals and everyday people from all backgrounds all over the world, few people know the story behind the company and how it got its start. The history and development of Beautyblender, as well as the life story of its founder, Rea Ann […]

Fighting for country, equal rights, and veterans: Carlos Martinez’s life of service 2020-11-08

When he reflected later in life on why, as a young man, he chose to enlist during wartime, Carlos Martinez said that avoiding service was never an option, not for his community and not for himself. In the mid-1960s, the United States had begun fighting the Soviet-supported North Vietnamese as part of its Cold War […]

Theodore Roosevelt, Hunter-Naturalist 2020-10-27

Within a gallery stands a rifle once presented to Theodore Roosevelt. It is perhaps an odd gift, considering that it was given to him with a note remarking on “his services on behalf of the preservation of species.” How do you preserve a species, and what does a gun have to do with it?Elephants and […]

The tales emergency currency can tell 2020-10-26

After the end of World War I, Germany was in economic crisis and was unable to provide enough currency for its citizens. In response, cities and towns under German control created their own form of emergency currency, called notgeld, to supplement the limited national currency in circulation. The locally-issued notgeld were highly illustrated, colorful, and […]

The artistry behind a baseball bat 2020-10-13

Custom Baret bat, Woodbridge, Virginia, 2018Gift of Juan Baret Bate Baret personalizado, Woodbridge, Virginia, 2018Donación de Juan BaretIn baseball, it all comes down to the batter. Will they be the hero, or be faulted for the team’s loss? Will they hit a home run or strike out? We think about the person behind the plate, but […]

Essential and expendable: The rise of agricultural labor and the United Farm Workers 2020-10-12

Until the successes of the United Farm Workers (UFW) in the 1960s, agriculture was one of the last industries to hold out on unionization due to social and legal obstacles. Workers and organizers faced uneven legal protection; isolation; prejudice; reliance on imported, exploitable workers; and opposition from state and federal officials who either represented agribusiness […]

The monument that created Columbus 2020-10-12

In October 1792, the United States of America was still a new country, not even a decade old, fresh from a complete government overhaul just four years earlier. With only one federal election by that point, and one president, it was a nation long on ambition, but short on history. There were heroes, of course, […]

Five things to listen for during a presidential debate 2020-09-29

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.Are you planning to tune in? Even if you’ve already decided […]

"They called me 'race traitor'": Joan Trumpauer Mulholland's lifetime of resistance 2020-09-11

Last year I began working as a stage manager for Join the Student Sit-Ins, an interactive theater program at the museum set in 1960. The program simulates the training sessions students at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) like North Carolina A&T and Bennett carried out in the weeks following the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins. […]

The echoes of war: Curatorial legacies of World War II 2020-09-01

A mere 75 years ago aboard the battleship Missouri, representatives of the Japanese Emperor, his government, and the Imperial General Headquarters signed the Instrument of Surrender in a ceremonial end to the 20th century’s greatest conflict. That same day, three future curators and the inaugural director of the National Museum of American History were serving […]