NATIONAL AG MUSEUM? Dear Dr. Glass and Dr. Daniel, In December I
visited the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of American History.
My interest was to see how you related the history of
agriculture and its ever-changing impact on American life since
I am a family farmer in Bureau County, north-central Illinois. I
was very disappointed to find that you do not have any
agricultural exhibit in your Museum of American History on the
National Mall. I question how you can tell America's story
without this critical aspect of our history and the recognition
of agriculture as it is critical to the well-being of our
nation. Since the very beginning of the colonization of America,
farming and agriculture have been an essential part of American
life. There were farmers who signed the Declaration of
Independence; our first president, George Washington considered
himself a farmer, and many who followed him in office were
involved with agriculture. Even the Civil War had connections to
agriculture. Abraham Lincoln signed the l