Museum Objects Monthly Archives: Politics & Government
20-star United States Flag used in initiation ceremonies to the Union League, where members swore to protect the Union and its values, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 1862-1865. (Museum object #1951.213) Most Americans believe that the Civil War consisted of two... :: June 12, 2008
Surveyor's tree blaze from the 1841 expedition to lay out the boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan, found at Trout Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin. (Museum object #1977.97) Surveying is the means by which European settlers turned the North American landscape into... :: June 5, 2008
Trade stimulator gumball slot machine seized from a Shullsburg, Wisconsin tavern in 1945. (Museum object #2008.13.1A-B) When is gambling not gambling? When you're buying gum, too. At least that was the theory of many tavern owners. Authorities have tried to... :: May 22, 2008
United States Senate campaign banner for Milwaukee Socialist Congressman Victor L. Berger, April 1918. (Museum object #1992.168) Milwaukee teacher and newspaper editor Victor L. Berger was arguably the most successful Socialist politician in the United States. This large poster documents... :: May 1, 2008
"Denial of Absolution" collage featuring likeness of civil rights activist Father James Edmund Groppi by artist Gloria Adair of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1966. (Museum object #1993.37.1) In 1966, Milwaukee, Wisconsin artist Gloria Adair felt compelled to compose a work of art... :: January 31, 2008
Red velveteen vest worn by Wisconsin Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus, c. 1975. (Museum object #1982.450.15) In 1978 Wisconsin chose Lee Sherman Dreyfus, then chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), as its 40th governor. Those who met Dreyfus found... :: January 10, 2008
Garnet velvet evening gown worn by Wisconsin First Lady Charlotte McAleer Kohler to President Eisenhower's 1953 Inauguration Ball. (Museum object #1960.211.2) The sparkling glamour of Hollywood in its heyday inspired designers to clothe their movie star clients in innovative and... :: December 27, 2007
Six-foot "floor model" Festivus pole and stand made of an extruded aluminum alloy manufactured by The Wagner Companies of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and used by Governor Jim Doyle, 2005. (Museum object 2007.84.1A-C) Unadorned and lusterless. These are typically not adjectives used... :: December 13, 2007
Military draft raffle drum used to select draftee names in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the Civil War, 1863-1864. (Museum object #1966.174) Disorganization and dissent marked the state and federal governments' efforts to recruit troops during the Civil War. These efforts included... :: November 8, 2007
Control rod and replica fuel assembly from Wisconsin's first nuclear power plant. (Museum object 1997.56.13-14) If this nuclear power plant fuel assembly were real, the Wisconsin Historical Museum staff would be dead. The object shown at left is actually a... :: October 18, 2007
"Welcome" sign used to decorate lamp posts in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the 1957 World Series. (Museum object #2007.68.1) Henry Aaron's 10th inning home run on September 23, 1957 defeated the St. Louis Cardinals and propelled the Milwaukee Braves into... :: October 4, 2007
Trunk used by Werner Brunner while he worked on Civilian Conservation Corps projects in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, 1934-1935. (Museum object #1990.165.26,A) During the Depression of the 1930s, many young, unmarried, and unemployed men jumped at the opportunity to join... :: May 10, 2007
Ornamented bronze cuspidor (spittoon) used in the Wisconsin State Capitol, c. 1915-1955. (Museum object #1955.3600,A-B) Today considered an antiquated relic of a bygone era, this bronze cuspidor represents the high level of detail, craftsmanship, and quality that went into the... :: April 26, 2007
Case of soda pop bottles shipped by the Kurth Company of Columbus, Wisconsin during prohibition, 1920-1933. (Museum object #1994.77.1) The day-to-day lives of many Wisconsin residents changed drastically with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the... :: April 5, 2007
Promenade dress worn by Hannah Billinghurst of Juneau, Wisconsin, 1857. (Museum object #1955.1449,A) As wife of United States Congressman Charles Billinghurst in the mid-nineteenth century, Hannah Billinghurst of Juneau (Dodge Co.), Wisconsin would have been expected to attend state functions... :: March 15, 2007
Desk used by Milwaukee Alder Vel Phillips, made by the Northwestern Furniture Company for Milwaukee City Hall, 1895. (Museum object #2007.16.1) From this roll-top desk on the floor of the Milwaukee Common Council chamber, Alder Vel Phillips forged a career... :: March 1, 2007
Gown made by Charles Frederick Worth of Paris for Frances Fairchild of Madison, Wisconsin, 1880. (Museum object #1945.960,A) The dream of nearly any fashion-minded wealthy American woman in the late 19th century was to own a gown especially designed for... :: February 22, 2007
Inauguration gown worn by Wisconsin First Lady Sue Ann Thompson at her first inauguration ball, 1987. (Museum object #2003.61.1a-b) “Glitter, glitter, everywhere” was how the Wisconsin State Journal reported Governor Tommy Thompson’s inauguration ball held January 5, 1987. The Capital... :: December 28, 2006
Votomatic punch card voting device used in Walworth County, Wisconsin, until 2000. (Museum object #2006.24.1) This Votomatic punch card voting device was last used in used in the City of Delavan, Walworth County, Wisconsin on election day, November 7, 2000.... :: November 2, 2006
Plaque commemorating the passage of the 1915 Seaman's Act. (Museum object #1942.530) This commemorative plaque, which consists of photographs and text set within an intricately knotted ropework frame, was made to commemorate the passage of the milestone 1915 Seamen’s Act.... :: August 31, 2006
Land of the Freed-up Woman American flag banner made from bras, 1971. (Museum object #2000.79.1) By 1971, in the midst of the feminist movement, Marjorie Engelman of Green Bay, Wisconsin had experienced a new sense of liberation. She had started... :: March 16, 2006
Forward statue by Wisconsin artist Jean Pond Miner, 1893. (Museum object #1998.1.1) In 1895 sculptress Jean Pond Miner received an unusual honor for a woman of her day: her seven-foot tall allegorical statue Forward was given a prominent position at... :: March 2, 2006
Influenza quarantine placard, c. 1910-1924, from the period of the "Spanish flu" epidemic. (Museum object #1978.404.50) The influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, which killed between 20 and 40 million people worldwide, did not spare Wisconsin. During the last three months of... :: January 12, 2006
Oldest known surviving license plate in Wisconsin, issued to a Mount Horeb man, 1905. (Museum object #1966.493.1) Over the past century, automobiles have massively influenced Wisconsin’s built environment and many aspects of our social behavior. But things were not always... :: January 5, 2006
Water glass used by Theodore Roosevelt just after he was shot by a would-be assassin in Milwaukee, 1912. (Museum object #1954.291) On the night of October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was addressing 9,000-12,000 people in Milwaukee Auditorium when he stopped... :: October 13, 2005
Block-printed wall hanging produced by workers of the Milwaukee Handicraft Project, 1935-1943. (Museum object #1981.184.4) On November 6, 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, the staff of the Milwaukee Handicraft Project (MHP) opened its doors to find a... :: September 22, 2005
Arm and leg restraints that bound John McCaffary, the last man executed in Wisconsin, 1851. (Museum object #1976.249.1–.2) It cost Kenosha County just 75 cents to purchase these cotton and leather restraints that would later bind John McCaffary’s arms and... :: August 11, 2005
Portrait of Lucius Fairchild by John Singer Sargent, 1887. (Museum object #1942.305) After losing an arm at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, General Lucius Fairchild returned to a political career in Wisconsin, eventually serving as governor for three successive... :: June 30, 2005
United States Flag used to drape the caskets of both Robert M. La Follette, Sr. and Jr. (Museum object #1951.187) Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette, an iconic figure in Wisconsin history, passed away on June 18, 1925 at the... :: June 9, 2005
"Blitz Fog" pesticide package, manufactured for Northern Industries, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, c. 1965-1967. (Museum object # 1999.143.22) This package of "Blitz Fog," which features a casually dressed woman eradicating pesky mosquitoes as she tidies her lawn with a power mower,... :: April 21, 2005
Giant knife presented to John Fox Potter by Missouri Republicans after Potter's threatened duel with a Virginia congressman, 1860. (Museum object #1957.1122) John Fox Potter was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Wisconsin in 1856... :: April 7, 2005
Parade tunic worn by Wisconsin suffrage supporter during Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, 1916. (Museum object #1956.1450) Led by Theodora Youmans, President of the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association (WWSA), Wisconsin suffrage supporters journeyed to Chicago on June 7, 1916... :: February 24, 2005
Ojibwe pipe presented to Wisconsin territorial governor James Duane Doty, 1844. (Museum object #1955.399,A) Tay-che-gwi-au-nee, a member of an Ojibwe band from the south shore of Lake Superior, presented this pipe to Wisconsin's territorial governor James Duane Doty on behalf... :: February 11, 2005
Vest worn by Charles C.P. Arndt when he was shot on the floor of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, 1842. (Museum object #1963.300) On February 11, 1842 the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature met in Madison only to be interrupted by the shooting... :: February 4, 2005
|
