Past Exhibits

President Obama speaking to group of people in White House.

Featured Document Display: 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
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On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional in public schools.

Colonists throwing tea into Boston Harbor

Featured Document Display: 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
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It wouldn’t be known as the “Boston Tea Party” for another 50 years, but the destruction of the tea in 1773 marked a critical turning point in the brewing American Revolution.

Detail of Monroe Doctrine

Featured Document Display: 200th Anniversary of the Monroe Document
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Buried in a routine annual message to Congress in 1823, President James Monroe articulated the landmark foreign policy statement known today as the Monroe Doctrine.

Photograph of famous african american soldiers returning home during World War I

Featured Document Display: Summer of 1948: A Step Forward for Equality for all in the U.S. Armed Forces
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On July 26, 1948, President Truman signed Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 ending racial segregation in the federal workforce and in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Sketch Map of Rancho San Miguelito (Detail)

Featured Document Display: Diseños: An Impact of Mexican Cession
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Diseños are important evidence of the profound impact that the Mexican Cession had on the lives of some Mexicans whose land became part of the United States. 

Anna May Wong Certificate of Identity

Featured Document Display: Celebrating Anna May Wong
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Film legend Anna May Wong’s talent could not be contained by the racist casting of early Hollywood movies.

Vignette of "St. Anthony Comstock, the Village Nuisance" (detail)

Featured Document Display: Vicecapades: 150th Anniversary of the 1873 Comstock Act
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Anthony Comstock (1844–1915), a self-appointed guardian of public morality, successfully lobbied Congress for stricter obscenity laws and secured an appointment as a special agent to the United States Postal Service with broad powers to police the mails.

Willa Brown and Lola Albright

Featured Document Display: The Maker of Pilots: Willa B. Brown
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Aviator Willa Beatrice Brown (1906–92) achieved numerous “firsts” in her lifetime, many of them earned through her tireless advocacy to integrate aviation programs.

Susan B. Anthonk Arrest Order

Featured Document Display: Courting Confrontation: The Arrest of Susan B. Anthony
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On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women were arrested for attempting to vote in Rochester, New York.

HUAC press release listing witnesses, Hollywood Blacklist

Featured Document Display: Remembering the Hollywood 10: Screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr.
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Early in the Cold War, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated allegations of Communist activity in the film industry.