This year the federal holiday Thanksgiving falls on November 23, the fourth Thursday of the month. But it wasn't always so. Today's post looks at Thanksgiving as a federal holiday and the various days it has been commemorated. To learn more about Thanksgiving and how the National Archives is celebrating, visit our website. One of … Continue reading Thanksgiving as a Federal Holiday
On May 30, 2022, the Lincoln Memorial turns 100 years old. Today’s post from Christina James, originally published in 2014, has been updated. Walking through our nation’s capital, you will inevitably come across at least one structure adorned with triangular pediments, massive columns, or a majestic dome. Many of Washington, DC’s most iconic buildings and … Continue reading John Russell Pope’s Lincoln Memorial designs
Today’s Facial Hair Friday looks at the first president of what would become Gallaudet University in Washington DC: Edward Miner Gallaudet. It features photographs from the Mathew Brady collection at the National Archives. Edward Miner Gallaudet was born on February 5, 1837, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the youngest of eight children. His father, Reverend … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Edward Miner Gallaudet
Today’s blog post comes from Paige Weaver from the History Office of the National Archives. When most people think about the U.S. Civil War, they typically consider it a purely American affair that pitted the geographic regions of the North versus the South. Yet, this so-called “War Between the States” was hardly limited to the … Continue reading Words As Powerful As Bullets: Diplomats during the U.S. Civil War
March is Women’s History Month! Visit National Archives News to see how we're celebrating. Today’s post comes from Michael Hancock in the National Archives History Office. According to the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. But in the case of Josephine Cobb and her 1952 discovery in a Civil War–era photograph, it’s worth … Continue reading Josephine Cobb’s Discovery of a Lifetime
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (what some of us here at the Archives call the “EP”)—in the middle of the U.S. Civil War. In it, he declared all slaves within the states that were currently in rebellion to be free. Although it did not abolish slavery altogether, the document … Continue reading The “EP” at the National Archives
Today's post comes from Jim Zeender, Registrar on the National Archives Exhibits Staff. On June 1, my colleagues Alexis Hill, Warren Halsey, and I culminated about nine months of work with a visit to the Lincoln Cottage on the grounds of the Old Soldiers Home. Terry Boone and Bill Nenichka had participated in previous trips. A … Continue reading The 1986 Immigration Act and My Lifetime Relationship with the Lincoln Cottage
Today's post comes from Hailey Philbin in the National Archives History Office. The 20th Amendment is often referred to as the Lame Duck Amendment. It was passed by Congress on March 2, 1932, and ratified on January 23, 1933. The amendment changed the date of the Presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20. It … Continue reading The Not-So-Lame Amendment
On December 6, 1865, with Georgia’s ratification of the 13th Amendment, slavery throughout the United States became illegal. Just a few years earlier, in 1861, Ohio Representative Thomas Corwin proposed—and both Houses of Congress passed—a constitutional amendment that would have done the exact opposite. Corwin’s amendment read, "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which … Continue reading On Exhibit: Abolishing Slavery
To commemorate Memorial Day, the National Archives has released a short video about the importance of the holiday. Timed for the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s death and the upcoming sesquicentennial of the 1866 founding of the Grand Army of the Republic (the fraternal organization of Union Civil War veterans), the National Archives created … Continue reading National Archives commemorates Memorial Day with video
