We're nearly ready to open our doors again! Until then, the Missouri History Museum will continue to be closed tomorrow. All programs, including the scheduled American Red Cross blood drive, have been canceled. Please monitor our social media channels for the latest updates about when we will reopen. (fb)

George Ferris of Mexico, Missouri, patented this clothes washer with a simple design still recognizable today – a rotating tub that washes clothes by tumbling them inside. He marketed his design as a revolutionary way to make the household chore of washing laundry quicker and easier. But the Missouri Steam Washer’s history is far more complicated than safely cleaning “dirt and vegetable matter” from clothes. In the late 19th century, washing machine manufacturers often placed themselves at the center of the heated political debate over Chinese immigration. Spurred by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banning the immigration of Chinese laborers, the Missouri Steam Washer published an advertising card that depicted the washing machine with the legs of Uncle Sam chasing a Chinese laundryman from the country. “The Chinese Must Go,” it proclaimed. Advertisements like these, filled with racist and stereotyped imagery, told American consumers to wash their clothes at home and avoid patronizing the many Chinese-owned laundries that dotted American cities. The washing machine is one of many artifacts currently on display in our new signature exhibit, #Collected. (fb)