Smithsonian’s September 11 Exhibit

History museums communicate the past and thereby contribute to a society’s collective memory. In the past, curators used their professional standing to convey information and analysis. However, history museums increasingly take account of individuals ’ and groups ’ views of the past and are ever more wary of politically charged criticism. Drawing from interviews with key museum staff members, internal assessments and other writings about the exhibit and its creation, and observations of the exhibit, this article analyzes the Smithsonian’s September 11 exhibit and the process of its develop-ment. Curators designed an exhibit that cast all, including museum visitors, as “wit-nesses ” to events within a sharply delineated time period. By personalizing this traumatic day, this approach averted political pressure. At the same time, the September 11 exhibit delivered implicit and explicit political messages rallying citizens around national symbols and key leaders. The exhibit’s combination of a focus on the individ-ual person and the nation as a whole is consistent with Tocqueville’s assessment of American norms. Curators ’ choice to avoid larger geopolitical contexts to September 11 shows how a personalized approach seems to respect citizens but ultimately impov-erishes public knowledge and collective memory