Preserving the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence

Today’s post comes from Morgan Browning, Senior Conservator in the National Archives Document Conservation Division. Visit our July 4th webpage to learn more about the Declaration of Independence and our celebration of it at the National Archives. Few records created during momentous historical events are as compelling and influential as those associated with the adoption … Continue reading Preserving the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence

Top 10 of 2020

As we put 2020 into the past, we’re taking a look back on the most popular posts published this year. Thank you to the National Archives staff who helped us share our love of history.   10. The fourth installment of a series about unratified constitutional amendments, Unratified Amendments: Regulating Child Labor, explored an amendment proposed … Continue reading Top 10 of 2020

My Name is Alex Hamilton

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

“Oui oui, mon ami, je m’apelle Lafayette!”

Today’s post comes from Megan Huang from the National Archives History Office. On display at the National Archives until September 19, 2018, are a number of Alexander Hamilton papers, including a letter to everyone’s favorite Frenchman: Lafayette. The text of that letter, and many others both to and from Lafayette, is available on Founders Online. … Continue reading “Oui oui, mon ami, je m’apelle Lafayette!”

Dunlap’s Declaration of Independence

Today’s post comes from Megan Huang, an intern in the National Archives History Office. Visit our July 4th web page to learn more about the Declaration and our celebration of it at the National Archives.  Before people came to see the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, the Declaration came to the people, only … Continue reading Dunlap’s Declaration of Independence

A Trip to Williamsburg

Today's post comes from Jim Zeender, Senior Registrar in the National Archives Exhibits Program in Washington, DC.  In early September I had the pleasure of taking a train to Williamsburg, Virginia. I have taken trains to Philadelphia, New York, and New Haven numerous times. Overseas, I have been on trains in England, France, Austria and Switzerland. … Continue reading A Trip to Williamsburg

Making It Official: The Day the Declaration of Independence Was Signed

Today’s post comes from Andrew Grafton in the National Archives History Office. Independence Day in the United States is celebrated on July 4, the day the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. If you ask just about any American, they can correctly identify that date. What is less commonly known, however, is that … Continue reading Making It Official: The Day the Declaration of Independence Was Signed

Annual Birthday Party for the Declaration of Independence

Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the History Office at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. For almost a half-century, the National Archives has held an annual birthday party on July 4, at the document’s home at the National Archives in Washington, DC. This timeline marks the significant milestones in Archives Fourth … Continue reading Annual Birthday Party for the Declaration of Independence

The Great Seal: Celebrating 233 Years of a National Emblem

Today’s post comes from Meagan T. Frenzer, graduate research intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, DC. On June 20, 1782, the Confederation Congress approved and finalized the first Great Seal of the United States. The First Continental Congress in 1776 originally commissioned Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to create a … Continue reading The Great Seal: Celebrating 233 Years of a National Emblem

The Articles of Association: Liberty through Economic Independence

Today’s post comes from Alley Marie Jordan, graduate research intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, D.C. In celebration of the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary this year, the National Archives is exhibiting a seminal document on American political and economic liberties: the 1774 Articles of Association. The Articles of Association, written by the … Continue reading The Articles of Association: Liberty through Economic Independence