A Smithsonian exhibit designed to commemorate America’s 250th birthday displays numerous objects linked to key points in the nation’s history, though it provides relatively little representation of Christianity or conservatism despite ample coverage for LGBT rights and racial justice movements, among other liberal causes, a Fox News Digital review of the exhibit’s online catalog found.
In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness is an exhibit curated by the Smithsonian Institution with the aim of displaying 250 objects that help to tell the story of America from the 1700s to the present. Among these objects are historically significant items, such as a compass from the 1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, a dress belonging to Dolly Madison, Abraham Lincoln’s hat and the desk the Declaration of Independence was written on.
Also included in the exhibit, according to an online catalog published by the Smithsonian, are a number of objects with clear ties to modern liberal politics, such as a pink “p-ssy hat” worn by a participant of the 2017 Women’s March, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel, monarch butterfly wings worn by an illegal immigrant activist and a typewriter belonging to liberal writer Maya Angelou.
Next to Angelou’s typewriter is a picture of a 1970s drag queen “wearing an off-the-shoulder shimmery gown,” according to a visual description of the exhibit published by the Smithsonian.
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The exhibit’s selections are drawing scrutiny as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans challenge the Smithsonian’s portrayal of American history around the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Fox News Digital reviewed the Smithsonian’s online catalog and grouped objects according to the movements, causes and institutions identified in the museum’s descriptions, finding seven tied to conservative movements, compared with nearly two dozen tied to causes including LGBT rights, abortion access, racial justice, organized labor and Democratic politics.
The apparent domination of liberal causes in an exhibit designed to celebrate the contributions of all Americans to the nation’s history could further inflame conservative criticisms of the museum.
While the exhibit examines how left-of-center individuals and movements shaped American history, conservatives have less representation.
Just seven items representing conservative movements — a MAGA hat, a Tea Party placard, a pro-life sign, a dress worn by Melania Trump, a sign opposing the feminist-backed Equal Rights Amendment, a Ronald Reagan campaign T-shirt and a National Rifle Association button — are presented by the Smithsonian, according to its online catalog.
By comparison, the same catalog shows that liberal causes — such as LGBT rights, farm-worker rights, abortion access, racial justice, environmentalism, labor unions and the Democratic Party — collectively have nearly two dozen items representing them.
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Among those, the Smithsonian chose four total items representing the gay rights movement, for example.
That wasn’t far behind the six it curated to represent Christianity, including items from churches and a Bible, per its catalog. Christianity historically was America’s dominant faith, influencing nearly all aspects of life, though it has declined in prominence in recent decades.
Even the items representing Christianity, however, include undertones of racial justice.
A pew from a Black Presbyterian church, for example, is accompanied by a description of its pastor’s racial activism. The one Bible on display as part of the exhibit, meanwhile, discusses the owner’s anti-slavery sentiments.
Other religions, such as Judaism, with a Seder plate and a Hanukkah lamp, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, colloquially known as Mormons, with a plate depicting one of their temples, received representation as well.
Among the LGBT artifacts displayed by the Smithsonian is a red tie that belonged to the late lesbian activist Carmen Vázquez. A description for the item notes that she described it as her “seduction necktie.”
“Vázquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City. After College, she lived in San Francisco for many years, honing her political understanding of immigrant rights and women’s and public health,” the online exhibit description continues. “Her endless energy for LGBTQ+ rights and justice for all, and her work, writing, and speeches ensured the safety and capacity to thrive of countless people across the United States.”
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The online catalog also shows that nearly two-dozen items displayed at the exhibit are related to recent waves of Asian and Latino immigration. Earlier migrant groups such as the Irish, French and Italians, received just one entry each.
One display dedicated to recent immigrants is a soccer ball donated by the founder of the Fugees soccer team for refugee children in Clarkston, Georgia, describing how the group “overcame anti-immigrant backlash.”
The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital. However, comments made by the National Museum of American History’s director provide some insight as to why curators made the decisions they did when selecting items for the exhibit.
“How do you structure a commemoration, celebration and time for reflection?” Anthea Hartig, the museum’s director, told British newspaper The Guardian. “What we landed on were those moments where individuals or communities had fought for recognition and advocated for their own sense of identity and self in their role in creating and becoming a part of the United States. But we also wanted to do the playful.”
Beyond items of political or ideological significance, the exhibit also makes an effort to showcase historical changes to domestic life, technology and pop culture through the display of everyday objects.
Various household appliances from different points in American history, props from the Star Wars movies, currency spanning hundreds of years, instruments belonging to famous musicians, technological advancements in areas such as video games and telecommunications and sports paraphernalia, like hockey gloves worn during the 1980 “miracle on ice” Olympic match against the Soviet Union, are all on display.
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