Some might say the best part of sleeping over at the National Archives is snoozing the night away beneath the Constitution, but we know the best part is having the Archivist of the United States make you pancakes for breakfast! Three times a year, kids and their parents can stay overnight at the National Archives. … Continue reading The Archivist’s Favorite Pancakes
Month: July 2015
On Exhibit: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Today’s post comes from Alex Nieuwsma, an intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, DC. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a milestone in American history. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it on August 6, 1965, marking the culmination of decades of efforts toward African American equality. The 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, … Continue reading On Exhibit: Voting Rights Act of 1965
On Exhibit: Bloody Sunday
Between 1961 and 1964, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) held a voting registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, a town known to suppress African American voting. When their efforts were stymied by local enforcement officials, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King, Jr., pushed Selma into the national spotlight. On March … Continue reading On Exhibit: Bloody Sunday
Towards Freedom and Equality: The Americans With Disabilities Act
Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, D.C. July marks the 25th anniversary of the historic moment when President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits employers, the government, and transportation, among other agencies and institutions, from discriminating against … Continue reading Towards Freedom and Equality: The Americans With Disabilities Act
Frances Perkins aided the von Trapp Family Singers
Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the History Office at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. In 1938 the von Trapp family singers were in danger. Baron von Trapp, a heroic Austrian sea captain in World War I, declined a commission to serve in the naval forces of the Third Reich. His … Continue reading Frances Perkins aided the von Trapp Family Singers
Staff from St. Louis are “unofficial rock stars” at National Genealogical Society conference
This post comes to us from Communications intern Lia Collen. Staff from the National Archives (NARA) at St. Louis participated in the annual National Genealogical Society’s (NGS) Family History Conference in St. Charles, MO, from May 13–16. More than 2,200 professional genealogists attended the conference. Access Coordinator Bryan McGraw and archivists Theresa Fitzgerald, Daria Labinsky, … Continue reading Staff from St. Louis are “unofficial rock stars” at National Genealogical Society conference
Building Bridges between the Worlds of the Deaf and Hearing, Archives and Knowledge
Danica Rice is an archives technician at the National Archives at Seattle. The National Archives is participating in #DisabilityStories as part of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I have always seen myself as a bridge between two worlds, that of the Deaf and that of the Hearing. There are many purposes for bridges, … Continue reading Building Bridges between the Worlds of the Deaf and Hearing, Archives and Knowledge
Pirates: An Early Test for the New Country
Today’s post comes from Tom Eisinger, senior archivist at the Center for Legislative Archives in Washington, DC. When Richard O’Bryen, captain of the Philadelphia ship Dauphin, penned his July 12, 1790, letter to Thomas Jefferson, he had been a captive of the Barbary pirates in Algeria for almost five years. This letter, and others, helped bring … Continue reading Pirates: An Early Test for the New Country
New Web Exhibit on Center Market
In 1797, President George Washington designated two acres in the heart of Washington City for use as a public marketplace. For the next 134 years, Center Market was a Washington D.C. landmark on Pennsylvania Avenue, until it was demolished in 1931 to make way for the National Archives Building. The National Archives History Office has produced … Continue reading New Web Exhibit on Center Market
New Web Exhibit on the Freedom Train
For 18 months in the late 1940s, some of the nation’s most important historical documents toured the country in a traveling museum called the Freedom Train. The National Archives History Office has produced a new online exhibit on the Freedom Train, which is available in the Google Cultural Institute. Viewed by more than 3.5 million … Continue reading New Web Exhibit on the Freedom Train