Our Founding Fragments video series gets up close and personal with historical treasures in the collection of the National Museum of American History. This is our fifth episode in the series, and in it our host Tory joins curator Dr. Margaret S

The mission of the Japanese American National Museum is to make known the Japanese American experience as an integral part of our nation's heritage in order to improve understanding and appreciation for America's ethnic and cultural diversity.

The French-born artist Jean Charlot spent his early career during the 1920s in Mexico City. His 1948 lithograph depicts a scene from the domestic life of a Mexican indigenous woman, a favorite theme of the artist. Household work-without the aid of most, if any, electrical appliances-was a full-ti

Born in New Orleans in 1901, jazz musician Louis Armstrong (d. 1971)was known for his distinctive trumpet-playing and vocal style. He often improvised jazz riffs using his voice rather than his instrument, “scatting” notes and melodies rather than singing actual words. Armstrong transformed t

This resource, designed by Learning Technology Center in the University of Texas at Austin College of Education, features an interactive timeline that tells the stories of the American presidents of the twentieth century, from Herbert Hoover to William Jefferson Clinton. Each presidents biographi

Most incandescent lamps were designed for general use in homes and businesses. However, some required special features for use in particular locations. Westinghouse engineers designed this so-called mill lamp for use in factories and other areas subject to high levels of vibration. An intricate i

In 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on this portable desk of his own design. It features a hinged writing board and a locking drawer for papers, pens, and inkwell. By the summer of 1776 members of the Second Continental Congress prepared to declare thei

Though a key requirement of citizenship is learning English, many guides are still available in the native languages of new immigrants. The Foreign Language Information Service provided translations of these guides in thirteen European languages.

The Resettlement Administration was created in an effort to curb rural poverty among farmers. It purchased small, economically unviable farms and set up government-monitored cooperative homestead communities. These farm families received educational aid along with supervision. A community called Sky

Braceros, with some in a crowd and others in line, wait at the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.