American History museum shares objects with hidden stories to take Post 20 on a journey through political history

A curator with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History told American Legion Post 20 members on Wednesday, "Objects have hidden stories in them."

Dr. Claire Jerry, curator of the museum's Division of Political History, discussed efforts to document political history, and to help the public share and understand that history. Jerry described how the political history division has 170,000 objects, some of which predate the Smithsonian itself, founded in 1846.

Those objects include a compass from the Lewis and Clark expedition, a 1903 teddy bear named for President Theodore Roosevelt, and a wedge used by Abraham Lincoln to split rails. As an example of the hidden stories, Jerry said Lincoln took the wedge to a blacksmith to have his initials carved into it.

"But I am not a scholar," the blacksmith said, meaning he was illiterate. So Lincoln carved the initials himself, keeping the wedge as a memento of his rail-splitting days before succeeding as a lawyer.

The political history division collects items from conventions, rallies, and protests, ranging from paper fans to buttons to hats. Jerry said the museum staff can sometimes simply step outside onto the National Mall to gather artifacts.

"Every party, every protest, every demonstration goes right past our front door," Jerry said. Her slide presentation included items from the 1963 March on Washington, the 1968 Poor People's Campaign, and the 1990 Rally for Life.

"Democracy is an active word," Jerry said. "It's almost an active verb." She also noted that the United States has always had sharp divisions and ugly politics. "Almost nothing is totally unprecedented," she said.

Post 20, affiliated with the National Press Club for more than a century, was founded at the suggestion of famed World War I General John J. Pershing, who was an associate member of the Press Club at the time.