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I still remember my first visit to the Smithsonian when I was nine years old. Being able to see real objects from real events in American history, from President Lincoln's top hat to Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, stirred my imagination and led to a lifetime love of our nation's history. When you come to the Museum, you can see the enormous Star-Spangled Banner, the same flag that inspired the national anthem almost 200 years ago. It is easy to imagine how Francis Scott Key felt when morning dawned after a night of constant bombardment and the American flag was flying proudly over Baltimore's Fort McHenry, signaling victory. Stop at the Woolworth lunch counter from segregation-era Greensboro, N.C., and sense the tension when on February 1, 1960, four African American students sat down and asked to be served. Their courageous act heightened many Americans' awareness of racial injustice and launched a wave of protest that ultimately led to the desegregation of public facilities throughout the nation. In The American Presidency exhibition, you can see the small portable desk on which Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776—a treasonous act that led to the formation of our great democracy. The Museum takes care of more than three million objects that preserve the memories and experiences of the American people. We constantly enrich the collections with new acquisitions and research, and provide the public with a strong sense of the American identity through exhibitions and programs that look at the major themes of our national experience. At the National Museum of American History everyone can explore uniquely American ideals, freedom, democracy, opportunity, and the belief in progress—something we call the American Dream—that have shaped our nation. This is the place where history comes alive. I hope you will join me on a journey of exploration and discovery into the history of this nation—in person or online.
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