Enola Gay Controversy In History

Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.

It was a nice morning when I have decided to take a trip to one of the national museums in Washington DC - The National Museum of American History. It was a great experience to discover something new, and to get some knowledge and a new information about the history of the United States of America. The museum has a collection of historical writing records science, industry and culture objects. The American History museum is very large, and it has three floors .Also, the museum focus on science and transportation and connections between technology and daily life in the early of the history to present.

Quoted by Handler and Gable, critic Ada Louise Huxtable declares the newly constructed reproduction of Colonial Williamsburg as “too clean,” arguing that it “does not include the filth and stench that would have been commonplace.” (Source E) This sanitation of the truth completely misrepresents history, and the educational value greatly suffers. Conversely, the National Museum of the American Indian hopes to avoid this lack of judgment by dedicating itself to the “preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and Arts of Native Americans.” (Source C) The main goal of the museum is to “span all major cultural areas” (C) and educate the public about and preserve the rich history of such a vast culture. The authenticity and significance of artifacts are important to representing culture and history, and the ability of these artifacts to educate should be a key factor of the selection process.

Memorial museums, in contrast to the “generic history museum which provides a container for a wide variety of topics” [Williams, 221], usually entwines intimately with its events

The museum believes in a pastiche and populist pathway, in which the history of all people is displayed. Its interactive viewpoint allows this museum to convey history in a way that would be more accessible to its audience. For example, patrons are given the opportunity to record their own history. However, academics, such as Keith Windschuttle, assert that the NMA is a “profound intellectual waste”. He argues that although it displays accurate history, it’s purpose of entertaining its audience detracts from its value, thus creating “waste”. Although Windschuttle’s view may be extreme, it demonstrates the considerable extent to which the tension between academic and popular historians exist.

Henry Gerber and his allies stood up against homophobic views to start the World's First Gay Rights organization because of discrimination and not to be accepted by the United States. He took a stand against the society who wasn't fair to the gay society. He was not a likable man but he was brave.

In the summer of 2001, the History News Network aired a documentary entitled “Truman on Trial,” accusing Truman of war crimes in his decision to use the bomb against Japan. To begin to see how, so many years after the attack, the use of the bombs has become a hotly contested moral and legal debate at present, one must first travel to mid-1980s Washington D.C. In 1984, a group of veterans from the 509th Airborne Division founded an organization to pressure the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) to rectify the absence of one of history’s most notable aircraft—the Enola Gay —from their display of World War II military aviation. Despite calls for the outright celebration of the Enola Gay as a symbol of American triumph, the director of NASM established with his Board of Directors a dialogue that denoted their belief that the bombs were unnecessary, that Truman used the bombs simply to impress Stalin, and that the entire Cold War arms buildup that shaped the remainder of the twentieth century was the result of Truman’s poor decision making. Notwithstanding NASM’s cold feet regarding the promotion of the plane as a symbol of America, it partnered with the Smithsonian Institute and went forward with plans for an exhibit in 1995 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the use of the bombs. As the display was nearing completion, it came to light

In Steven Lubar’s book, Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present, the recurring idea that museums are “more than the sum of their parts” plays a critical role in the overall argument (329). Lubar notes many aspects that make up a museum, the collection, for example is an essential part of any museum, but the community, as well as the experiences of the patrons create a lasting museum experience. Additionally, Lubar aptly utilizes real-world examples, contemporary and historical, highlighting the work of individuals in museums and establishing a connection between past and current events. Central to this narrative is the example of the lost Jenks Museum. Lubar uses this museum to argue that museums of the past can educate museum goers

The LGBT community is another word for the gay community. The gay community is all about getting their civil rights on issues like Economic issues concerning employment. In the

Homosexuality has been an issue for the public for an extremely long time dating back to even Ancient Rome and Greek. Especially with the birth of Christianity, the religious society has been persecuting anyone claiming homosexuality, forcing people to hide their own sexuality for centuries. It is important to understand and know the past of the homsexuality to understand the reason for their fight and the mentality of their opposition. Homosexuality has never been accepted into the norms of society and was even viewed as a mental disease by the American Psychiatric Association (Bowman). Not until a few decades ago has the movement for gay rights began to kick off. The event that really set off the movement was the Stonewall Riot of 1969. “New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed. The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested, but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police” (“Stonewall”). This event is regarded as the foundation for the modern gay rights movement including the formation of many gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights organizations.

In the early 1980’s the nation feelings were very anti-gay. At the same time the HIV/AIDS virus which attacked the immune system and could prove fatal, started showing up in many homosexuals and was named the gay disease. The public was so afraid that many medical facilities refused to treat anyone suspected of the having the virus. President Reagan refused to mention or support research or education to find a cure until the late 1980’s. He went along with what many TV Evangelists preached that this was god’s way of punishing homosexuals. He ignored the problem until he was politically pressured to recognize that the AIDS virus could affect more than just Homosexuals. The result of his non-action was that in the 1980’s over 100,000 thousand

Homosexual Americans in the 1950s and 1960s faced an anti-gay legal system. Early homophile groups in the U.S. tried to prove that gay people could be assimilated into society, and they favored dealing with the situation calmly by educating homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. When the 1960s ended, many social movements were on the move, including the African American Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture of the 1960s,Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s and at the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia It catered to an assortment of patrons and was known to be popular among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, transgender people, effeminate young men, butch

Between April 16 and October 26, 1994, the controversy over the exhibit around the Enola Gay became very serious now. This round begins with Harwit of the National Air and Space Museum hiring a team to consider the criticism of the first draft of the exhibit leveled by the AFA and it climaxes with the production of the

Looking back throughout history at the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals, it isn’t hard to see that we have made the majority of our strides in the past 10 years. As a society we have decided the time is now to put an end to the lack of rights for people of different sexual orientations. Accepting LGBT individuals and providing them the same rights and protections as all other Americans makes us a more united, respectable Country. Everyone deserves equal treatment and opportunities regardless of what their sexual orientation may be.

Questions have arisen concerning the ownership of history and the role that professionals and amateurs should have in the retelling of events in our nations past. Regardless of the different answers to these questions what is clear is that it is upsetting that common ground could not be reached between the multiple interests involved in the Enola Gay controversy. This exhibit is paramount in educating the populace about a pivotal moment in American history. I find its absence is unacceptable and deplorable. The following details the unique structure of how I would set up a museum concerning the use of the atomic Bomb, which will aim to educate visitors on events from Pearl Harbor to the dawn of the Cold War. Mature and curious visitors to my Atomic History Museum will be made aware that these events in history are controversial, emotionally jarring and gruesome by nature.