Congress is back in town this week, and a new crop of Representives is on Capitol Hill. If you follow politics, or live in Washington, DC (and therefore hear about politics every time you turn on the news), you know that the end of 2010 meant ducks. Lame ones. This happens when Congress has to reconvene after the … Continue reading Lame ducks? Blame the Constitution.
Since April 2010, we've brought you more than 100 Pieces of History. Nothing too small, too strange, or too obscure has escaped the spotlight of our blog or the scalpel of your clever comments. And we are still discovering new pieces of history every day here at the National Archives! But before we go forward into … Continue reading Top Ten Pieces of History for 2010
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In 1864, Savannah, Georgia, was offered to Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas present. But in 1776, George Washington delivered one of the greatest gifts in American history: the United States. Winter was a bad season for Washington. His Continental Army … Continue reading The must-have Christmas gift of 1776
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In 1992, George Washington University's "National Security Archive" submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), soliciting information from the Central Intelligence Agency. Their request was inspired by a 1973 memorandum issued from then-CIA Director James R. Schlesinger, who requested that … Continue reading The CIA’s catalog of covert conundrums
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The first use of the temporary insanity plea to beat a murder charge happened in 1859 and was employed in the defense of a man named Dan Sickles, who had killed his wife's lover. A story such as this might be … Continue reading A temporarily insane Congressman
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Today in 1860, 169 delegates convened in Columbia, South Carolina, to discuss the fate of their state. The decision was unanimous: South Carolina would secede from the Union. Declared in a terse four paragraphs, the Declaration of Secession set out … Continue reading Four paragraphs, five years of war
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. While the holiday season is a time for togetherness and reflection, some holiday posters leave you wondering, "did Santa just threaten me?" Yes, even bearded Old St Nick was recruited during World War II to keep the war factories churning, but … Continue reading FHF: Merry Christmas … Or else
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Carolyn Grey, you hit our funny bone hardest last week, when you added a snappy caption to a Civil War telegraph snipper. While we're not sure whether Apple will be rolling out the iPole anytime soon (though ostensibly it would have fewer … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. After more than 40 years of research and more than 14,000 documents, new discoveries are being made as scholars at the George Washington University continue to collect every scrap of paper associated with the First Congress of the United States. … Continue reading Inside the Vaults – The Bill of Rights
