Today's post comes from Andrew Salyer, an archives technician at the National Archives at Philadelphia. The holdings of the National Archives tell stories. And not just stories about the United States, but also about the greater world stage. Case files created during the period of the Chinese Exclusion Act testify to this global scale. Chinese … Continue reading Romance of the Two Calendars: A Note on Dating Conventions
If you visited the National Archives Exhibition Hall—now known as the Rotunda—between the years 1942 and 1955, you would have likely seen one of the National Archives’ most dedicated and enthusiastic guards, George Bloomquist. Archivist of the United States Wayne Grover presenting an award to guard George W. Bloomquist at his retirement ceremony. Left to … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: George Bloomquist
As we prepare for next week’s inaugural activities, we are looking back on our nation’s very first Presidential inauguration back in 1789. After the U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, the Confederation Congress passed a resolution providing that the states should choose Presidential electors on the first Wednesday in January of 1789. Congress … Continue reading The First Presidential Inauguration
Today’s post comes from Laurel Gray, an archives technician in the Research Rooms Branch at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is the third of a four-part series on the archival ramifications of the Watergate scandal. When Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he got straight to work on his Presidential Library. He established … Continue reading More Than Watergate: The Perfect Place for a Library
January 2 is National Science Fiction Day. Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, a former archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. It examines one of the leading science fiction authors who drew much of his inspiration from his time in the U.S. Navy: Robert Anson Heinlein. In 2022 … Continue reading A Space Cadet in the U.S. Navy: Robert Anson Heinlein
