BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – November 05, 2026 -- Visitors to Long Island University's Post campus can now see campaign buttons, banners, paper dresses and parade torches from American political history in "The Presidency & Promise of America: A More Perfect Union," which opened October 28.
The exhibition is presented with the Museum of Democracy and drawn from its Wright Family Collection of more than one million political and historical objects. It opened as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The Wright Family Collection spans Washington to Trump
Amassed over four decades, the collection documents presidential campaigns from George Washington through Donald Trump. It also includes ephemera from the civil rights, women's rights, political reform and social justice movements.
Madison Wright, Executive Director of the Museum of Democracy, said the objects show that democracy "has always been a work in progress." The exhibition's subtitle, "A More Perfect Union," comes from the opening words of the U.S. Constitution.
Presidential descendants headlined the opening celebration
The opening event ran from 6 to 8 p.m. and featured a panel of presidential descendants:
- Tweed Roosevelt, great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and Chairman of LIU's Roosevelt School
- Winthrop Roosevelt, Tweed's son, a great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and a member of the Society of Presidential Descendants
- Massee McKinley, great-great-nephew of William McKinley and great-great-grandson of Grover Cleveland through his maternal family
The conversation covered the legacy of presidential leadership, the changing nature of American political life and the importance of preserving presidential history.
The show joins a growing set of LIU presidential programs
The exhibition is part of LIU's expanding Roosevelt School initiatives. The Roosevelt School offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in international relations, diplomacy and leadership.
On campus, the White House Experience offers immersive recreations of presidential working spaces, including the Oval Office. The University's Leadership Laboratory adds simulations and exercises that ask participants to weigh complex decisions and the responsibilities of public service.
LIU's civic education offerings also include National Civics Day, the Presidential Speaker Series and the Society of Presidential Descendants. A forthcoming Virtual Library of the American Presidency will expand digital access to historical documents and artifacts tied to the nation's earliest presidents. The exhibition arrives in LIU's centennial year.