The Development of the National Museum at the Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1855: A Response to Joel J. Orosz's Article
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This work is a response to Joel J. Orosz' article "Disloyalty, Dismissal, and a Deal: The Development of the National Museum at the Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1855," printed in the Museum Studies Journal 2 (1986): 22-33. It refers to several other Smithsonian publications, and explores interpretations by historians who have studied the Smithsonian Institution, particularly Nathan Reingold, Curtis M. Hinsley, Jr., and William A. Deiss which do not support Orosz's interpretation. Orosz's original article argued that, after Secretary Joseph Henry dismissed the Librarian, Charles Coffin Jewett, in order to devote fewer resources to the Library, Henry reached an agreement with Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Spencer Baird, in which Baird would be allowed to continue to develop the National Museum in return for his loyalty during the crisis.
Smithsonian Institution History Bibliography
Includes photographs and end notes. Orosz responds to this critique in "In Defense of the Deal: A Rebuttal to S. Dillon Ripley's and Wilcomb Washburn's 'Response'," Museum Studies Journal 3 (1987): 7-12.
Museum Studies Journal Vol. 2, 4 (Journal)
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Spring-Summer 1987
pp. 6-11