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National Museum of American History

illustration of a woman handing a musket to a militiaman at the doorway of a home while a child stands nearby and soldiers gather in the background.

How Did It Feel to Be an American Colonist in 1776? Probably Itchy, Achy and Slightly Nauseated

Trade the tricorn hats, bonnets and homespun shirts for flip-flops, sneakers and soccer jerseys, and the intrepid revolutionaries of 1776 would have looked a lot like the people of 2026. But their sense of embodiment and experience of health were markedly different from what Americans feel today

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Celebrating America 250 with the National Museum of American History

What's Happening in July 2026

Visitors look at the Star Spangled Banner. It is dimly lit in its gallery at the museum.

Celebrating America 250, Solstice, Civic Season and Flag Day at the National Museum of American History

Mark your calendar for these upcoming events!

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It's Time To Celebrate America's 250th at the National Museum of American History

Kicking off our celebration this month with programs, concerts and more!

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Music Takes Center Stage This Month at the National Museum of American History

Here's what's happening this month at the museum...

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First Lady Melania Trump’s second inaugural gown joins the Smithsonian collection

The gown joined the collection at a ceremony on February 20, 2026.

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October Highlights at the National Museum of American History: Exhibits, Events, Music and More

Here's what's happening at the museum this month.

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Museum Happenings This September: Hispanic Heritage Month, New Exhibits and More

Here's what's happening this month at the National Museum of American History

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Museum Happenings This July: Exhibits, Music and More at the National Museum of American History

The calendar of exhibitions and events happening at the museum in July 2025.

Entertainment Nation

Mark Your Calendar: Black History Month, Exhibits, Jazz and More at the National Museum of American History

This February at the museum, we're celebrating a new season of the podcast, commemorating Black History Month, and listening to some jazz. Check out the calendar to find out what's going on this month!

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A Brief History of Presidential Inaugural Speeches

From George Washington to Today, a Look at the Precedent for the Inaugural Address

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Jimmy Carter Transformed More Than the Presidency

Former President Carter died Sunday at age 100 in his Plains, Georgia, home

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How a Newspaper Revolution Sparked Protesters and Influencers: Disinformation and the Civil War

How the most divided period in the history of U.S. democracy – the mid-1800s – coincided with a sudden boom in new communications technologies, confrontational political influencers, widespread disinformation, and nasty fights over free speech. This media landscape helped bring about the Civil War.

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To American Revolutionaries, Patriotism Meant Fair Dealing With One Another

When modern Americans call themselves patriots, they are evoking a sentiment that is 250 years old.

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Smithsonian Artifacts Reveal the Historical Significance of Presidential Debates

Bobbleheads, Magic 8 Balls, chairs and other artifacts in the Smithsonian reveal the historical significance of presidential debates.

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The 2024 Political Conventions Find a Home in the Smithsonian Collections

The cheering, clapping and speechifying are over. Historians from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History have returned after their trips to the 2024 political party conventions to collect materials – from balloons to banners to blinking wristbands – at each of them.

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Smithsonian Curator's Encounters at the Democratic National Convention

At the 2024 Democratic National Convention alongside politicians and delegates from across the country are political history curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, who are collecting what museum curators call “ephemera” – items that people wear, carry, hand out, display or otherwise use during the convention.

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What Smithsonian Curators Will Be Doing at the Democratic National Convention

Three political history curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History are heading to the 2024 Democratic National Convention soon to collect stuff – or as the professionals call it, ephemera: everything from balloons to tickets to articles of clothing

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Highlights of What the Smithsonian Is Archiving From the Republican Convention

"MAGA BLACK" hats, clear swag bags, the first Trump/Vance signs: Here's a look at what the Smithsonian curators are collecting

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How Smithsonian Curators Visit Political Conventions to Explain the Present to the Future

When scholars from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History attend one of these gatherings, as they do each election, they save everything from hats to buttons to umbrellas to soap

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