Collecting American Elections

There is no bigger moment in the life of the American democracy than when voters head to the polls to exercise their rights as citizens to appoint a new leader. For curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History there is no clearer mandate than the presidential elections every four years to collect and document, to record and preserve the objects that capture the times.

Smithsonian Affiliations and the National Museum of American History present a roundtable discussion of scholars discussing the hard choices and years of experience that they bring to collecting objects and documents from presidential campaigns for the nation’s collection. Lisa Kathleen Graddy, Jon Grinspan, and Claire Jerry from the Division of Political and Military History will share their favorite campaign artifacts from the Smithsonian’s collection, and will bring a diverse perspective to how Americans elect leaders and what messages the objects of campaigns convey about their times. Join us for a moderated conversation allowing audience members to ask questions and contribute their thoughts.