The American Story: Your First Look at A More Perfect Union and Picturing a Nation
We’re less than a month away from the opening of The American Story at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C.
For those unable to visit Washington, D.C. right away, we’re offering a "virtual" first look in the lead up to this exciting reopening. Each week, we will take you through the various galleries, showcasing original records that will be featured. This week, we will walk you through two more galleries: A More Perfect Union and Picturing a Nation. We are thankful to the Mars Family for their meaningful support of the Picturing a Nation gallery.
An adjacent gallery to Land and Home (which you can learn more about in last week’s Archives Experience), Picturing a Nation is a rotation of photographs that captures the beauty and vastness of American landscapes.
Rendering of "Picturing a Nation"
The National Archives preserves millions of photographs, paintings, drawings, blueprints, and maps. They provide a visual glimpse of the people and places that tell the American story. From awe-inspiring photographs of Western lands to images of people passing through Ellis Island to a new home— these are the stories that live through images at the National Archives.
The first set of photographs featured will be original Ansel Adams photographs taken of National Parks. In 1941, the National Park Service commissioned Adams to create a photo mural for the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C. The theme was nature in the U.S. National Parks, and the photos were used to raise public awareness and support for the National Parks system. Visitors can see Adams’ photos of various National Park sites including Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, and Glacier. See a glimpse on what’s going on view below:
The next gallery, A More Perfect Union, focuses on the U.S. Constitution.
Rendering of A More Perfect Union
The Constitution is a landmark document in human history. It created a three-branched federal government with a system of checks and balances, and it protects the rights of the people through the Bill of Rights. The Framers’ “great experiment” created a system of government proven responsive to the monumental changes and challenges that have occurred in this country since its adoption. Various stations in the gallery will give visitors the opportunity to explore the executive, legislative, and judicial branches respectively, with interactives that examine landmark Supreme Court cases to bills in Congress.
Visitors can take a closer look at the founding document, and how it has changed over time through the amendment process. The gallery also features a display of rotating petitions from citizens, showcasing citizens' interactions with the governmental process. The first set of petitions on view will feature arguments from citizens for and against the adoption of Title IX legislation, courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
A notable original artifact that will be on display in this gallery is George Washington’s annotated copy of the draft U.S. Constitution, made possible by Marilynn Wood Hill and John A. Hill. Serving as the president of the Constitutional Convention, he annotated his copy, as did the other delegates, reflecting the discussion and noting changes proposed during the next five weeks.
Stay tuned as this is just the beginning; each upcoming edition of the Archives Experience newsletter will give you exclusive sneak previews from the other captivating galleries within The American Story. From artifacts to the people behind it all, we'll continue to take you behind the scenes, revealing new treasures and stories that deepen our understanding of America’s past and present.
