U.S. History: National Museums & Libraries

The National WWI Museum and Memorial is America's leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community.

Offering a compelling blend of sweeping narrative and poignant personal detail, the National WWII Museum features immersive exhibits, multimedia experiences, and an expansive collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories, taking visitors inside the story of the war that changed the world.

The mission of the First Division Museum is to interpret and promote U.S. Military History through the Lens of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division — also known as the Big Red One (BRO). They present and promote U.S. Military History with an added perspective of preserving BRO artifacts, archival materials and history.

The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government.

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanent place on the National Mall, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors.

Their statement of purpose is to provide a permanent memorial to the victims of the Holocaust; offer an understanding of the causes and events of the Holocaust through a range of age-appropriate exhibitions and survivor testimonies and to present programmes of learning, based on the Holocaust, that encourage personal responsibility and the promotion of fairness and justice but also challenge learners to take positive action.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a place where all Americans can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience, what it means to their lives, and how it helped us shape this nation.

Launch into the history of flight by surrounding yourself with icons of air and space travel. The flagship building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, exhibits aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, rockets, and other flight-related artifacts. The museum has an IMAX theater for out-of-this-world escapes.

Devoted to the scientific, cultural, social, technological, and political development of the United States, the museum traces the American experience from colonial times to the present. The American History Museum’s collection contains more than three million historical objects—including the famed Star-Spangled Banner—and documents that explore the evolution of the American identity.

The National Museum of the American Indian cares for one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native objects, photographs, and media, covering the entire Western Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. The museum’s sweeping curvilinear architecture, its indigenous landscaping, and its exhibitions, all designed in collaboration with tribes and communities, combine to give visitors from around the world the sense and spirit of Native America.

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is a living monument to the story of the American people. Housed inside the restored Main Building of the former immigration complex, the Museum documents the rich story of American immigration through a carefully curated collection of photographs, heirlooms, and searchable historic records.

Located in the Historic District of Selma, Alabama at the foot of the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge, the scene of “Bloody Sunday,” the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute is the cornerstone of the contemporary struggle for voting rights and human dignity.

The official website of the Army Aviation Museum Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the United States Army Aviation Museum.

From this house, Mark Twain changed the way the world sees America and the way Americans see themselves. We continue the conversation he began.

The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum's various collections contain items related to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and, more generally speaking, to the Native American populations of the Southeastern United States. The Museum’s collections include historical newspapers, manuscripts, patchwork clothing, baskets, dolls, militaria and various pieces of ephemera produced during the 20th century.

The Museum of Southern History was established to maintain and perpetuate an educational facility for those who are interested in the history of the United States, its early and current problems and difficulties in becoming the Nation it is today. The museum covers from the Native Americans, American Revolution, Civil War and continues forward to current history.

The 6th Cavalry Museum preserves the rich military history of the Fighting Sixth Cavalry, stationed at The Post at Fort Oglethorpe 1919 - 1942. The story of the 6th Cavalry is illustrious, beginning in 1861 as a U.S. Cavalry Regiment to present day. Located on the Post’s original parade ground/polo field, the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, surrounded by officer’s homes and other Post buildings. Visited by presidents, military heroes, and celebrities, the museum houses artifacts, uniforms, weapons, accouterments, photos, and vehicles.

CHM’s mission—to share Chicago’s stories, serving as a hub of scholarship and learning, inspiration, and civic engagement—is the foundation of the Museum’s programs and events, exhibitions, educational initiatives, publications, and collecting activities that touch the lives of all Chicagoans and help them make meaningful and personal connections to history.

Their mission is to advance the appreciation of Chinese American culture through exhibitions, education, and research and to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans primarily in the Midwest.

The Polish Museum of America is the “crown jewel” of the Polish American community. Established in 1935, it has preserved and exhibited the history and culture of the Polish American community and their ancestral homeland – Poland.

The Pejepscot History Center manages archival, image, object, and reference materials relating to Joshua L. Chamberlain.

The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation, dedicated to preserving the birthplace and raising public awareness of the wide-ranging legacy of the great social reformer, Susan B. Anthony, who was a pioneering feminist and suffragist as well as a noteworthy figure in the abolitionist, opposition to Restellism (opposition to abortion), and temperance movements of the 19th century.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab American experience. Since opening in 2005, AANM’s mission has been to document, preserve and present the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.

Showcasing the only remaining weighlock building in the United States, the Erie Canal Museum collects and preserves Canal material, and provides engaging educational experiences that champion an appreciation and understanding of the Erie Canal’s transforming effects on the past, present and future.

From its beginnings on the first floor of the residence of Purley Baker, temperance leader in the Anti-Saloon League, the Westerville Public Library has been dedicated to meeting the expanding needs of the community. On December 15, 1930, the library opened with Cora Bailey as Librarian, and within several weeks it contained 3,062 volumes and 885 registered borrowers.

On May 31, 1889, a neglected dam and a phenomenal storm led to a catastrophe in which 2,209 people died. It’s a story of great tragedy, but also of triumphant recovery. Visit the Johnstown Flood Museum, which is operated by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, to find out more about this shocking episode in American history.

The James K. Polk Home is the only surviving residence of the 11th President of the United States*. This beautifully preserved American landmark is home to one of the finest Presidential collections in the nation, as well as period artifacts and authentic glimpses of life in the early 1800s in what was then America’s Western Frontier.

Noted as one of the nation's premier heritage and cultural museums, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, is steadfast in its mission to share the culture and lessons from the American Civil Rights Movement and explore how this significant era continues to shape equality and freedom globally.

Located in the oldest building on campus “proper,” the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library (1841) houses exhibits and personal artifacts of the Johnson family as well as Andrew Johnson’s personal library. This museum also serves as the repository for the college archives.

Originally named the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial Naval Museum and opened on February 24, 1967, the National Museum of the Pacific War (NMPW) is recognized today as a world-class, cultural institution. A Smithsonian Affiliate and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, NMPW provides the nation's most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater.

The Museum, located within the former Texas School Book Depository building, chronicles the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

In 1996, Francis Gary Powers, Jr. and John C. Welch founded the Cold War Museum® (CWM) to preserve Cold War history, honor Cold War Veterans, and educate students about this time period.

America’s Black Holocaust Museum was founded in 1984 in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin storefront by Dr. James Cameron, the only known survivor of a lynching. In 1988 Cameron acquired a spacious free-standing building, where the he expanded ABHM’s exhibits and employed staff.

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, New York was the home of the legendary American civil rights leader, and the site of her famous arrest for voting in 1872. This home was the headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association when she was its president. This is also where she died in 1906 at age 86, following her “Failure is Impossible” speech in Baltimore.

The Newberry Library supports and inspires research, teaching, and learning in the humanities. The Newberry collection—some 1.6 million books, 600,000 maps, and 5 million manuscript pages—is a portal to more than six centuries of human history, from the Middle Ages to the present.

The mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library is to increase the public’s understanding of military history, military affairs and national security by providing a forum for the study and exploration of their military - past, present, and future - with a specific focus on their stories, sacrifices, and values.

The Forbes collections are large and varied including not only popular fiction and non-fiction, large arts and music and children’s departments, and an impressive art gallery, but also an extensive local history and genealogy collection for Hampshire County as well as the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum.

The William L. Clements Library collects, preserves, and makes available historical resources about the Americas, with particular strengths in 18th and 19th century American history.

Visitors to the museum are in for a wonderful experience that includes an interactive science center, a presidential museum dedicated to the 25th president, a historical library, planetarium and more.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums illuminates the lives, legacy and era of President and First Lady Hayes, interprets the American Presidency, preserves Spiegel Grove and relates the importance of each to modern America.

The James Buchanan Online Presidential Library is a digital repository of more than 3,500 items associated with James Buchanan, Harriet Lane, and James Buchanan Henry, extended family members, associates, and Wheatland, Buchanan’s home.

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum seeks to increase the understanding of the life and legacy of the 28th President through the presentation of innovative and informative exhibitions, programs, archives, tours and other initiatives.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.