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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 11, 2004
Media contact:
Alicia Cordes
Phone: 651-296-4681
E-mail: alicia.cordes@mnhs.org
Exhibit Opening: “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden”
Date: Sat. and Sun., Oct. 9 – 10
Time: Exhibit Gallery, noon to 5 p.m., and Family Festival, noon to 4 p.m.
Place: Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul
Cost: Free
For more information: 651-296-6126
Opening Festivities Include Live Music, Kids’ Activities,
Presidential Food and a Patriotic Fashion Show
Only 42 men have held the post. Their names bring to mind some of the most famous (Camelot) and infamous (Watergate) periods in American history. They have been loved and hated, scorned and impeached, made larger than life and cut down to size. But each has played a role in the development of the nation – transforming it from a group of fledgling colonies into the world’s most powerful country.
Now, as the nation prepares to elect its 44th president (Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms), the Minnesota Historical Society presents “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden,” a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit. It will be
open to the public from Oct. 9, 2004, through mid-May 2005 at the Minnesota History
Center in downtown St. Paul. The exhibit will explore the power, glory and challenges of the American Presidency – the office, the men who occupied it, and their dynamic relationships with the public.
“This exhibit gets into the minds of our country’s presidents and explores the office as a whole – from dealing with foreign superpowers to everyday family life in the White House,” says Nina Archabal, director of the Minnesota Historical Society. “It also shows how Minnesota has been involved with presidential politics, from hosting the 1892 Republican National Convention to becoming an important ‘swing state’ in the 21st century. During this election year, the Society is pleased to present this exhibit free of charge to the public.”
It is expected that 250,000 Minnesotans will visit the exhibit. Additionally, more than 50,000 schoolchildren are expected to tour during school field trips, and will take part in the Society’s educational programs.
From George Washington to George W. Bush
“The American Presidency” is a highly visual exhibit. It includes more than 300 artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution. The Minnesota Historical Society will add more than 100 artifacts from its own collections. Numerous presidential artifacts are featured, including the inkwell used by Abraham Lincoln to write the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, a CBS microphone used by Franklin Roosevelt during his “fireside chats,” and a surveyor’s compass used by George Washington at Mt. Vernon.
The exhibit is divided into 10 sections: Presidential Campaigns, Creating the Presidency, Celebrating Inaugurations, Presidential Roles, the White House as Symbol and Home, Limits of Presidential Power, Assassinations and Mourning, Communicating the Presidency, The Presidency in Popular Imagination and Life After the Presidency. The rare artifacts tell the stories of 215 years of the presidency – featuring everything from silver candlesticks and microphones, to a Hepplewhite mahogany armchair and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s shoulder-baring formal gown.
“From the Great State of Minnesota,” the accompanying Minnesota Historical Society-created exhibit, will highlight the national campaigns of four of the state’s favorite sons: Harold Stassen, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and Walter Mondale. Also featured is the 10th Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in 1892, the first and only time that that Minnesota hosted a national gathering by a major political party.
Over 100 artifacts from the Society’s collections, including the state’s first electoral votes cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, merchandise from the Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., that helped support Humphrey’s 1968 presidential campaign – plus plenty of campaign bandanas, buttons, bumper signs and stickers – will be part of the Minnesota story.
Free Grand Opening Festivities, Public Programs and Education Components
A free two-day Family Festival (Oct. 9 and 10), from noon to 4 p.m. each day, offers visitors numerous ways to enjoy learning about the office of the presidency. The weekend features presidential costumed characters such as Abe and Mary Lincoln, rousing patriotic music (fife and drum corps, a brass quintet and a trombone ensemble), historic dance demonstrations and lessons, a cooking demonstration with samples of presidential food favorites (Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans), and a traditional British-style Punch and Judy hand puppet show adapted to modern American culture. Visitors of all ages will enjoy a campaign hat and bow-tie decorating activity, culminating with a Red, White and Blue Patriotic fashion show – co-sponsored by the Minnesota Textile Center – with “emcee” Abraham Lincoln at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. each day. Please see enclosed sheet for more details. Activities such as presidential cookbook author presentations and an inaugural ball will be announced at a later date.
A six-part lecture series on the presidency is offered monthly from Oct. 2004 through March 2005. Theodore Roosevelt called the presidency “a bully pulpit,” referring to the enormous power held by the president of the United States. “Building the Bully Pulpit: Men Who Made the American Presidency” is a package of six afternoon lectures
examining the office of the presidency and the transformation of the bully pulpit. Attendees can enjoy lectures and conversation as notable historians, professors and authors discuss and assess the work of those who have held the most prestigious office in the land. For admission fees and more information, visit mnhs.org/bullypulpit or call 651-296-3252. Please see enclosed sheet for details about speakers and lecture topics.
The Minnesota Historical Society gratefully acknowledges Elizabeth and Whitney MacMillan for their generous support that has made the Minnesota showing of “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden” possible. Exclusive local media sponsors of “The American Presidency” are KARE 11 and the Star Tribune.
“The American Presidency” was created by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The national tour has been made possible by the United States Congress, Guenther and Siewchin Yong Sommer, Kenneth E. Behring, the Smithsonian National Board and the History Channel.
The Minnesota History Center is located at 345 Kellogg Blvd. W. in St. Paul. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. Auxiliary aids and services are available with advance notice. For more information, call 651-296-6126, 1-800-657-3773 or TTY 651-282-6073, or visit mnhs.org.
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849 to preserve and share Minnesota history. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through engaging museum exhibits, an extensive library and collections, 26 historic sites and museums, educational programs and book publishing.
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