Ingenuity History

An inspiring and surprising celebration of U.S. women's history told through Smithsonian artifacts illustrating women's participation in science, art, music, sports, fashion, business, religion, entertainment, military, politics, activism, and more.

These historical narratives of scientific behavior reveal the often irrational way scientists arrive at and assess their theories.

"Poetry was declining/ Painting advancing/ we were complaining/ it was '50," recalled poet Frank O'Hara in 1957. Criminal Ingenuity traces a series of linked moments in the history of this transfer of cultural power from the sphere of the word to that of the image.

The Edison Institute Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village is indeed a treasure, but of a uniquely American kind. Our treasure was not created by kings and hoarded in royal vaults to be seen at a distance by respectful subjects. No, it is one in which we can all share since it represents the common experience of Americans as they worked to build new communities and discovered new ways of doing things that have changed and improved our lives.

In this new account of Franklin's early life, Pulitzer finalist Nick Bunker portrays him as a complex, driven young man who elbows his way to success.