Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

How a Newspaper Revolution Sparked Protesters and Influencers: Disinformation and the Civil War

How the most divided period in the history of U.S. democracy – the mid-1800s – coincided with a sudden boom in new communications technologies, confrontational political influencers, widespread disinformation, and nasty fights over free speech. This media landscape helped bring about the Civil War.

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To American Revolutionaries, Patriotism Meant Fair Dealing With One Another

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Smithsonian Artifacts Reveal the Historical Significance of Presidential Debates

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The 2024 Political Conventions Find a Home in the Smithsonian Collections

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Smithsonian Curator's Encounters at the Democratic National Convention

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What Smithsonian Curators Will Be Doing at the Democratic National Convention

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Highlights of What the Smithsonian Is Archiving From the Republican Convention

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How Smithsonian Curators Visit Political Conventions to Explain the Present to the Future

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How This WWII Flag Fulfilled a General's Dying Wish

Three cards where visitors left handwritten messages invoking girl power. One card reads: “you think we're not good enough but we're just to [sic] good for you, girl power.”

What Does 'Girl Power' Really Mean?

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Soldiers in Fur Coats and 'Doggles'

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Reflecting on the Ten Year Anniversary of DACA

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Before Memorial Day, Learn the Language of Flowers

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Where Black and Indigenous History Come Together

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How Butterfly Wings Helped a New Collecting Initiative Take Flight