Politics

June 1919. "Palmer house after bomb explosion." The shattered facade of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's house at 2132 R Street NW after the June 2 blast. The only casualty was anarchist Carlo Valdinoci, blown to bits when the dynamite-packed suitcase he was putting under the front steps exploded prematurely. A search by the police "revealed only fragments of the body of the dead man," the Washington Post reported. "A part of a shattered leg clothed in a red sock and a garter, and a mutilated head were picked up. Several spinal vertebrae were discovered in a front room on the second floor of the Swedish legation on the opposite side of the street." National Photo glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Senator Capper of Kansas." Arthur Capper, a printer and newspaper editor by profession, in the composing room of the Government Printing Office. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.

November 4, 1924. Washington, D.C., or vicinity. "In line to vote." Have we all done our civic duty? National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., 1920. "Suffragettes voting." An inspiration to us all! National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

November 5, 1924. "President & Mrs. Coolidge acknowledge greetings from crowd on morning after election." National Photo glass negative. View full size.

January 1939. "Sign near Weslaco, Texas." Thinking back to high school civics or Trivial Pursuit, some of us may hazily recall the Townsend Plan's having something to do with old-age pensions and Social Security. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

1941. "Billboard in Windber, Pennsylvania." Republican political sentiment from the 1940 presidential campaign, annotated by passers-by. Poster illustration by Howard Scott; FSA photo attributed to "Brown." View full size.