July 30, 2020, marks the 75th Anniversary of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock, archives technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Sometimes a movie can provide a history lesson in its story arc—an event that few in the audience are familiar with. Such is the … Continue reading The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis
Today's post comes from Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs Specialist at the National Archives. There is perhaps no single figure whose own life and career embodies the promise, success, and continued challenges of civil rights for Black Americans than John Lewis. We mourn this tremendous loss and look back on his incredible history through our holdings … Continue reading We Remember Civil Rights Legend John Lewis
Today’s post comes from Joseph P. Keefe, an archives specialist at the National Archives at Boston. In November 1942, following the Allies successful invasion of North Africa, over 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were sent to the United States to POW camps. On September 3, 1943, Allied forces made amphibious landings on the mainland of Italy, … Continue reading The Italian Service Units of World War II in Boston
Today's post comes from Alice Kamps, a curator at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It would not be Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s last act of insubordination. Decades later, his recalcitrance cost him his career. But this time there would be no discernible consequences, at least not for him. Against direct orders from the President, MacArthur … Continue reading The 1932 Bonus Army: Black and White Americans Unite in March on Washington
Today's post is by Miriam Kleiman, National Archives Program Director for Public Affairs.Even long after the Civil War, thousands of African Americans were hanged, burned and shot to death, beaten, and tortured by white mobs who celebrated these atrocities and were rarely prosecuted for their crimes. In 1918, Rep. Leonidas Dyer of Missouri submitted a … Continue reading The Tulsa Massacre
An American author most known for the novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorne, ca. 1862. (National Archives Identifier 530280) In addition to being an author, the facial-haired fiction-writer was also a civil servant. He was a weigher and … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Born on the Fourth of July
In celebration of the upcoming movie version of the musical Hamilton, we are highlighting two Hamilton-related documents from the National Archives holdings. One of my favorite documents, and timely for Independence Day, is Alexander Hamilton’s Oath of Allegiance during the Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton's Oath of Allegiance, May 12, 1778. (National Archives Identifier 2524343) Hamilton … Continue reading My Name is Alex Hamilton
On June 29, 1954, a 600 pound model of the vault that held the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights went on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. It was one of two models the Mosler Safe Company made to demonstrate how such a mechanism would work to secure the … Continue reading The Mosler Model
Today's post comes from Joshua Cain, an archives technician at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The Peace Corps has had a large impact on my life. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize from 2007 to 2009. I didn’t know much about the agency before I applied except that it involved … Continue reading The Peace Corps in Retrospect
This is the sixth and final installment of a series about unratified constitutional amendments. Today we’re looking at an amendment intended to give full voting rights to the citizens of the nation’s capital. For most of its history, the residents of Washington, DC, have lacked representation in Congress and the ability to participate in elections … Continue reading Unratified Amendments: DC Voting Rights
