Bring Them Home Uncle Sam Ongoing Exhibit … Soldiers arrive home aboard the S.S. Haverford as the transport ship pulls into Philadelphia, 1918. Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs More than two million American service members were overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces when the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918, ending World War I. Americans would continue to serve in Germany as part of the Allied Occupation until 1923, but many were quickly demobilized. The service …

Mr Santa Claus Romance of the Postal Service Past Exhibit … This holiday featured film is one of a series of silent movies produced by the Post Office Department in 1921. The mini melodrama shows how the postal service helps make a happy Christmas for a boy and his sister when their “Dere Sandy Claws” letter is answered by a young married couple. Mr. Santa Clause, 1921. Records of the Post Office Department. NAID: …

National Inventors Day Marjorie S Joyner Past Exhibit … Marjorie S. Joyner and her students from Madame Walker Beauty School, 1925 Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library   Among the first African American women to receive a patent, inventor Marjorie Stewart Joyner had an influential career as a teacher and activist. Born in 1896 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Marjorie Stewart moved to Chicago in 1912. Four years later, she was the first African American to graduate from the A. B. Moler Beauty …

Want to hunt for the Yeti Past Exhibit … Government Regulations for Yeti Expeditions in Nepal On November 30, 1959, the American Embassy in Kathmandu issued this memo outlining the regulations for American mountaineering expeditions in Nepal to search for the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman. Believed by some to reside in the Himalayan Mountains, interest in the Yeti spiked during the 1950s. This prompted the government of Nepal to issue regulations for Yeti-hunting parties. The U.S. State Department’s memo …

Behind the MusicalAlexander Hamilton Documents Past Exhibit … Can't get tickets to Hamilton? Come see the original documents from the Founding Father whose life and legacy inspired the musical. To mark the the run of Hamilton: An American Musical at The Kennedy Center, a collection of rare Alexander Hamilton documents related to lyrics from the hip-hop musical sensation will be on display. These historic records relate to Hamilton's service at the Battle of Yorktown, participation in the Constitutional …

20th Amendment A New Inauguration Day Ongoing Exhibit … The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was proposed by Congress in 1932 and ratified by the states on January 23, 1933. Since then, the President’s and Vice President’s terms begin midday on January 20. Congress begins on January 3. The amendment also defines a backup procedure in the event that a President-elect dies or has not been chosen by inauguration day–a statute that Congress has never needed to enact. Joint Resolution Proposing the 20th …

First Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin Past Exhibit … Four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment secured American women’s constitutional right to vote, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress. Political pioneer, suffragist, pacifist Four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment secured American women’s constitutional right to vote, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress. Rankin was sworn in as a representative for Montana on April 2, 1917. She served …

The 50th Anniversary of Title IX Past Exhibit … Sex discrimination in education put Patsy Mink on a path to becoming a legislator. Title IX —an act barring sex discrimination in education— was to be her signature legislative achievement.   Denied entry to medical school because of her sex, Patsy Mink entered law school instead. She went on to become the first Asian American and first woman of color elected to Congress. The educational discrimination Mink faced as a young woman fueled her desire to secure …

The Maker of Pilots Willa B Brown Past Exhibit … Aviator Willa Beatrice Brown (1906–92) achieved numerous “firsts” in her lifetime, many of them earned through her tireless advocacy to integrate aviation programs. Brown began taking flying lessons in 1934, and over the next four years she earned an MBA at Northwestern University, her Master Mechanic Certificate, and her pilot’s license, making her the first Black woman to receive a license in the United States. Determined to give aspiring pilots …