Friday, I went to the National Portrait Gallery on 7th and Pennsylvania, across the street from the Spy Museum. As I was wandering through the portraits upstairs, I found a room entirely dedicated to Lincoln’s assassination. It had pictures and newspaper articles along with a portrait of Lincoln used as the center piece to the small exhibit. Next door to that room was the Presidential Portrait Gallery, beginning with the earlier presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, etc. Then, the room led to a hallway with later presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Finally, at the back of the exhibit, a large room was devoted to the more modern presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, both George Bush’s, Ronal Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and my personal favorite, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
There was a video playing of these presidents giving their famous and inspirational speeches that lead America out of difficult times, such as George Bush’s speech after 9-11 declaring that America would not give up, both Kennedy’s and Roosevelt’s inaugural addresses, and Kennedy’s speech in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The exhibit wasn't entirely filled with traditional painted portraits, but of all different kinds of displays of the presidents such as statues and mosaics. The America's Presidents gallery was the most interesting exhibit I've been to in a museum. I really enjoyed learning about our presidents, and the gallery portrayed the presidents personalities and not necessarily their accomplishments which was a new way to look at the people who have shaped America's history.
