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1981. An exhibit review describes the National Air and Space Museum as "largely a giant advertisement for air and space technology. . . . The omission of the Enola Gay . . . or rather, omission of the 'offensive' themes in 20th century history represented by the World War II bomber -- can be seen as the first crisis of the new museum. . . . Why not the Enola Gay?" Controversial perspective on the NASM just before Adams arrives.

"The Romance of Technological Progress: A Critical Review of the National Air and Space Museum," by Michael McMahon, Technology and Culture 22 (1981): 281-96. [FullText]

1984. Robert McCormick Adams, an expert in "lost" civilizations, is appointed Secretary to the Smithsonian, charting new directions from his predecessor, who had served twenty years: "I am impressed how people don't take account of the long term, and by their capacity to tear each other apart when the differences dividing them are objectively quite narrow. . . . What produces instability? These questions are as valid for our own society as for any other."

"University of Chicago Provost," by Jacqueline Trescott, Washington Post, 01/24/84, A1. [FullText]

"Provost of Chicago U. Will Head Smithsonian," New York Times, 01/24/84, C10. [FullText]

"He Took Smithsonian out of the Attic," by Irvin Molotsky, New York Times, 03/03/84, 11. On Adams' predecessor, S. Dillon Ripley. [FullText]

See the May 1984 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (a journal edited by Ruth Adams, wife of Robert) mentioned in the "Winds" article above as devoted to "Space Weapons" and showing the atomic clock (see the history of the atomic clock and what was going on in 1984) a dangerous three minutes before midnight. [PDF]

"The Winds Of Change," by Kevin Klose, Washington Post, 06/10/84, K1. [FullText]

"Secretary S. Dillon Ripley Retires after Twenty Years of Innovation," by Edwards Park, Smithsonian, September 1984, 76-85. On Adams' predecessor, S. Dillon Ripley [FullText]

"The View from the Castle," by S. Dillon Ripley, Smithsonian, September 1984, 10. The last editorial by Adams' predecessor, S. Dillon Ripley: "At the Smithsonian we have believed that life itself is an endless opening up of more opportunities for learning." [PDF]

"Change at the Castle," by Sarah Booth Conroy, Washington Post, 09/18/84, E1. [FullText]

"A New Secretary Takes Charge at the Smithsonian," by Madeleine Jacobs, Smithsonian, October 1984, 118-25. [FullText]

"Smithsonian Horizons," by Robert McCormick Adams, Smithsonian, October 1984, 12. Adams' first editorial: "A recurrent theme in the letters I have received is that the Smithsonian is more than a national treasure house, that it has become one of our precious handful of unifying symbols." [PDF]

"Smithsonian Horizons," by Robert McCormick Adams, Smithsonian, November [December?] 1984, 14. Second editorial by Adams: "progress comes primarily by posing new questions and refining new methods." [PDF]

For a professional biography of Adams, see "Robert McCormick Adams: An Archaeological Biography," by Norman Yoffee, American Antiquity 62.3 (1997): 399-413. [FullText]

1985. Adams indicates the seriousness of the Smithsonian mission. Ruminating about collecting television artifacts such as Archie Bunker's chair, Adams wonders if there is "not some danger that we will contribute to the ongoing erosion of vital standards of judgment."

"Smithsonian Horizons," by Robert McCormick Adams, Smithsonian, July 1985, 10. [PDF]

1987. Reviews of controversial Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibit marking the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution: 'A More Perfect Union': Japanese Americans and the United States Constitution. Curator Tom Crouch: "This is the story of a grave injustice done to a group of Americans who by virtue of their ancestry were denied basic civil rights guaranteed to all Americans. Our concern is that all Americans understand the importance of extending the safeguards and protections of the Constitution to every citizen."

"Smithsonian's Constitution Controversy: Show on Japanese Americans' Internment Protested by Vets," by Mary Battiata, Washington Post, 03/16/87, B1. [FullText]

"Story of Japanese-Americans Told in Constitution Display," by Dexter Waugh, Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities, 04/09/87, 5C. [FullText]

"Exhibit Shows Slice of U. S. Internment Life," by Nathaniel C. Nash, Houston Chronicle, 10/11/87, 25. [FullText]

1987. Martin Harwit is hired to direct the NASM:

"Air & Space Selects New Director," by Sara Booth Conroy, Washington Post, 06/25/87, B9. [FullText]

1987. Interviews with Adams several years into his tenure: "Nearly everything that Adams plans for his tenure as Secretary . . . applies to deepening the intellectual structure of the place."

"The Quiet Revolutionary," by Howard Means, Washingtonian, August 1987, 96-101, 146-51. [FullText]

"Pioneering into the Past," by Rushworth Kidder, Christian Science Monitor, 11/27/89, 14. [FullText]

1988. Adams and Harwit, alert to veteran interest evidenced by the Enola Gay Restoration Association, begin planning to exhibit the refurbished Enola Gay and, in doing so, they articulate their philosophy of the Smithsonian's role in presenting history. Adams: "we are in the business of confronting and learning from history, not suppressing it." Harwit: "It seems to me germane for a national museum that deals with space flight to bring out the kind of information an intelligent voter should have in order to decide how to vote on issues." The article below by Kazin is quoted by Adams and gives a sense of contemporary unease about the dropping of the bomb, climaxing with reference to Herman Kahn of "Doomsday Machine" notoriety.

"Awaiting the Crack of Doom," by Alfred Kazin, New York Times Book Review, May 1, 1988: 1, 40-41. (A review of Spencer R. Weart, Nuclear Fear: A History of Images, Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1988) Reading excerpts from Herman Kahn's On Thermonuclear War and Thinking the Unthinkable would be appropriate here. [FullText]

"Smithsonian Horizons," by Robert McCormick Adams, Smithsonian, July 1988, 12 [PDF]

"Saga of the Enola Gay," American Legion Magazine, August 1988, 18-20, 48. Highlights the Enola Gay Restoration Association headed by Donald Rehl and Frank Stewart, members of Tibbets' group; quotes from Tibbets point to opposition to displaying the Enola Gay. [FullText]

"The Enola Gay," by Martin Harwit, Air & Space, August/September 1988, 4. [PDF]

"At Air and Space, Ideas on the Wing," by Elizabeth Kastor, Washington Post, 10/11/88, D1. Interview of Harwit. [FullText]