Exhibits

As rapacious as Americans' relationship with their natural world has been over the past two centuries, there is also a strong tradition in the U.S. of advocating for the health and sustainability of the non-human world. This exhibit traces the many forms that American environmentalism has taken, from nature writing and conservationism in the 19th and early 20th centuries to the regulatory campaigns of the post-Silent Spring era to the climate justice movement of today.

At the mouth of the Mississippi, New Orleans occupies a liminal space geographically, bringing the Caribbean into contact with the vast interior of North America. This location made the Crescent City a cultural crossroads where Afro-Caribbean traditions blended with French and Spanish colonial legacies and westward-moving Anglo-American southern society.

This exhibit considers the ways this unique milieu has shaped New Orleanians' experiences of the nation's larger political and economic forces, and explores the roots of the city's distinctive food, music, and performance culture.

For well over a century, people have been flocking to the movies. This exhibit traces the history of Americans' relationships with the silver screen, from film's earliest days to the cinematic creations of our own times.

Almost a century ago, historian Carter G. Woodson declared the second week in February to be "Negro History Week." The focus on African American history eventually expanded to encompass the entire month, and little by little, to permeate curricula throughout the rest of the year as well. This exhibit explores the ways African American history has been learned and taught in schools, museums, and popular culture.

From the Gold rush to the tech boom, people have come to San Francisco from all directions in search of fortune. The resulting diversity has given rise to creativity and exploitation, resistance and innovation. The subcultures that formed, from Chinatown to the Castro district, from Haight-Ashbury to Angel Island and Alcatraz, themselves drew more people to San Francisco, making the city famous for its cultural innovation and political activism.

In the mid-20th century, Americans restructured their lives around automobiles. Cars assumed a central role in everything from the national economy to the routines of daily life. But the costs of car culture have been steep. Crashes and pollution have taken a toll on human bodies, highway construction and zoning changes have reshaped our landscape, and industry marketing has shifted individuals' perceptions of their fundamental needs, wants, and rights. The automobile in the U.S. is both a symbol of freedom and modernization, and the engine of a system that encourages dependency, threatens public health, and resists change.

Car culture is so pervasive that many people take it for granted as the natural order of American life. But by revealing the political, industry, and consumer decisions that have brought us to this point, history can serve as our “blind spot detection,” equipping us to envision new possibilities for the future.

The levels of carbon currently in the Earth's atmosphere are unprecedented in both the historical and geological records. Still, the climate crisis does have a history. Humans have created the situation in which we now find ourselves, and must continue to make choices about what to do about it. This exhibit explores the causes and impacts of climate change through a historical lens, and draws on the past to help frame the best courses of action for the future.

Roe v. Wade. The occupation of Wounded Knee. Hip-hop's emergence in the Bronx. These were a few of the big cultural and political events that took place in the U.S. in 1973. To mark that year's 50th anniversary, we compiled this exhibit looking back on what in retrospect appears to have been a very consequential year.

When we think about the battles waged by Americans both at home and abroad, we tend to remember the big picture questions. Why were Americans fighting? Who else was involved? What were the outcomes?

Less remembered are the civilian victims of the violence wrought by Americans in the course of their wars. In this exhibit, you'll find a range of writing about those victims, and about the extent to which Americans have acknowledged and accounted for the atrocities committed in their name.

American history is filled with stories of religiously minded people who have attempted to live their values in community with others. Some of these groups have been motivated to change the larger society, while others have focused their efforts on their own communities. This exhibit explores the contours and legacies of some of the nation's most prominent religious movements.

We are told that Americans' trust in their news media remains near record lows. But do public opinion polls obscure a longer history of debate about the media that stretches back to the founding era?

This exhibit explores some of the ways Americans have defined and wrestled with the appropriate role of journalists in a democracy.

Digital technology has facilitated new and more efficient methods for accessing the records of our past. This exhibit explores the challenges and rewards of archiving in the digital age, as well as the ways in which new technologies are shaping historical research and collective memory.

Family histories can inspire a deep sense of connection to the past. This exhibit traces the different paths people are taking to find their ancestors, through methods both new (like crowdsourced genealogy and DNA testing) and old (like archival research, community commemoration, and oral tradition and storytelling).

From the revolutionary era to the present, this exhibit traces 250 years of politics, resistance, law, and medicine in the City of Brotherly Love.

The economic collapse of the Great Depression, and the accompanying environmental crisis of the Dust Bowl, posed tough challenges to Americans in the 1930s. The crises prompted many innovative responses, from social movements and works of art to the New Deal's infrastructure and social safety net. This exhibit highlights how this turbulent decade ushered in a new era for labor, culture, and government.

A look back at what historians have had to say about this epic contest over the nation's future.