National Museum of American History - Many Voices, One Nation

One of the enduring components of the American story is that we are a nation that has come together from many different peoples who originated in many different places.  The second exhibit we explored in the National Museum of American History last May tackled this topic.

The people of North America came from many cultures and spoke different languages long before the founding of the United States, even before European contact. In creating the new nation, early leaders envisioned a country that promised opportunity and freedom—but only for some. As the population grew, the people who lived in the United States found ways to negotiate, or work out, what it meant to be American. That negotiation continues. This exhibition explores how the many voices of people in America have shaped our nation.
--from Many Voices, One Nation exhibit website

While many new people did arrive in North America between 1492 and 1776 it is true that there was also a massive depopulation.  Though people disagree on the exact scale of the devastation we know that there were many diseases like smallpox that swept through ahead of Europeans and decimated indigenous populations.

The earliest European settlers were the Spanish.  New Mexico was one of the earliest places later to be in the United States that were colonized.

Of course before the Spanish arrived there were plenty of cultures already in the area.  This hat comes from the Pacific Northwest and is comprised of many different eagles.

I'm sure helmets like this were popular with Spanish conquistadors.

This cowrie shell necklace shows the heavy African influence that came along with European colonization (see 1493 by Charles C. Mann for more about this).

The French colonies that later became Quebec were once called New France.

And New York City was once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

There were quite a few cases with exhibit pieces.

It is interesting to reflect how the different colonies were even very different from each other.  For example South Carolina's plantation culture was very different from the northern colonies.

Pennsylvania was founded by a Quaker family, the Penns and was a place where religious toleration thrived.

I wasn't surprised to read about Germans in the Midwest, for I live just south of Cincinnati and know that it has a heavy German influence due to large settlements in the area.  This patriotically decorated table was made by German immigrant in Wisconsin.

Many stores could be told about the Mississippi valley which opened up to American settlement after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

The incorporation of the Mexican cession lands caused more mingling of cultures, especially in California, the most heavily populated area that the US gained after the Mexican-American War.

Of course the American experiment didn't limit itself to North America as lands far afield like Puerto Rico and Hawaii were incorporated into the country.

These instruments come from Puerto Rico.

Our past includes plenty that we can regret and learn from like the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Thankfully we truly are a country that epitomizes the motto E pluribus unum.

The next post in this series will look at another exhibit from American cinematic history.

~Matt