Claire Jerry, a political history curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, discusses the work of the museum and the artifacts in its political history collections related to whistle-stopping candidates, including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Adlai Stevenson. She also talks about William Jennings Bryan’s presidential campaigns and items from Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 “Lady Bird Special” that toured the South in support of her husband, President Lyndon Johnson.
Takeaways
- Acquiring and Preserving Political Collection
- Collecting Contemporary Campaign Items
- Item Display and Digital Accessibility
- Harry Truman's 1948 Campaign & Museum Collection
- Adlai Stevenson's Campaign Train Tours
- Dwight Eisenhower's Campaign Train & Microphones
- Lady Bird Johnson's Whistle Stop Tour & Collection
- Viewing the Museum's Collection & Contacting Claire Jerry
Quotes
"Embracing the essence of history, we collect not just the commercially made, but also the heartfelt creations of individuals, uniting past and present in every campaign artifact."- Claire Jerry
"The Lady Bird Special Collection showcases local officials and remarkable women's history, making it stand out in our collection."- Claire Jerry
Featured in this Episode
Edward Segal
Author of Whistle-Stop Politics
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardsegal/
Claire Jerry
Curator of Political History at the National Museum of American History
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-jerry-0abb4351/
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - Political history curator's experiences and collection.
04:05 - Collecting campaign materials summary.
07:18 - Technological changes and campaign objects.
11:11 - Truman's Campaign Memorabilia Collection
12:21 - Truman's Pre-Release Itinerary for 1948 Tour
13:44 - Stevenson's Silver Spring Station Invitation
15:50 - The Significance of Whistle Stop Tours
16:48 - The Eisenhower Victory Microphones Saga
18:20 - Lady Bird collection: Southern tales.
20:59 - Presidential campaign train memorabilia.
22:29 - Outro
Produced by http://www.heartcastmedia.com
