In the 1950s, the station wagon became a staple of America's new suburban landscape and a ubiquitous extension of the suburban home. This car reveals how one family adopted a mobile, active lifestyle and how station wagons shaped family life. Between the 1920s and 1940s, station wa

Diner's Club was one of the earliest issuers of credit cards beginning in 1950. The convenience and security they came to represent transformed payment methods and later blossomed into one of the primary mechanisms for purchasing goods and services for customers. They also became a device for tra

Maritime activity is as important as ever, and it affects the lives of people everywhere.  The importance of shipping to today's global economy and the types of ships that transport goods throughout the world are the focus of this section of On the Water: Stories from Maritime America

In this online exhibition, students will learn how fear of Soviet domination galvanized reform in science and math education during the 1950's and 60's. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. In order win the "Space Race", the Uni

This bassinet quilt with a framed center design is made of high quality plain blue and white cotton feed sack fabrics. Mrs. Dorothy Overall of Caldwell, Kansas, a contestant in many sewing events in the 1950s and 1960s, pieced and appliquéd this quilt on a Pfaff sewing machine she had won in a c

Family photograph albums hold the history of generations, preserving the memories of birthdays, holidays, travels, and all general aspects of life. African American Mary Taylor used her 35mm Bell and Howell camera to document her family's life in the black community of Los Angeles, California, du

Part of a Pullman porter's job was to make up the sleeping berths in his assigned sleeping car, and to provide extra blankets to passengers requesting them. The standard Pullman blanket in the 20th century was dyed a salmon color, which became almost a trademark of the company. When a blanket bec

WANN represents a significant moment in American cultural history-the rise of black-oriented broadcasting. Although blacks constituted 10 percent of the population, black interest in broadcasting on any scale, didn't begin until 1948. That year WDIA in Memphis became the first station to go to a

Laying the groundwork for the Chicano movement of the 1960s, organizations like the American G.I. Forum began advocating on behalf of Hispanic veterans who were denied the educational, health care, housing, and other rights guaranteed by the G.I. Bill. Often working in concert with the League of

Declaring the distances to such places as Boston, San Francisco, and Toledo, this sign post graced the set of M*A*S*H during the show's run. Set in Korea during the 1950s, the show revolved around the work and antics of the staff of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH). Its final episo