Strange-but-true stories about America’s Presidents from the National Archives and Presidential Libraries.
In honor of Lady Bird Johnson's 100th birthday on December 22, 2012, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library unveiled a newly redesigned space to give visitors a new look at the 36th president. The library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photos, one million feet of film, 2,000 oral histories, and 5,000 hours of recordings from … Continue reading LBJ Library opens new exhibits after multi-million dollar renovation
Today's blog post comes from David J. Gerleman, assistant editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln’s two-year stint as a Illinois Whig congressman is one of the lesser-known periods of his eventful life. Had he remained in obscurity, it might have remained the crowning achievement of a fizzled frontier political career. Having been … Continue reading The Check is in the Mail: The Hunt for Abraham Lincoln’s Congressional Pay Records
Today’s blog post comes from National Archives social media intern Anna Fitzpatrick. The news of the Emancipation Proclamation was greeted with joy, even though it did not free all the slaves. Because of the limitations of the proclamation, and because it depended on a Union military victory, President Lincoln recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation would … Continue reading Emancipation Proclamation: The 13th Amendment
Today’s blog post comes from National Archives social media intern Anna Fitzpatrick. Only 100 days after promising in the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that slaves in the Confederacy would soon be freed, Lincoln fulfilled that promise by signing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This proclamation changed the character of the war, adding moral force … Continue reading Emancipation Proclamation: “It is my Desire to be Free”
Once upon a time, space was quiet. This was before satellites had cluttered the orbit of the earth, beaming TV shows and text messages and GPS coordinates. Before 1958, space was very quiet. On December 18, 1958, the Air Force placed the first communications satellite, a Project SCORE relay vehicle, into orbit. And then, on … Continue reading Merry Christmas from Space!
If you thought the Presidential election was over and all the votes were counted, you’re wrong. The formal election is Monday, December 17, when “electors” meet in their respective state capitals to cast their votes for President and Vice President. Although the names Barack Obama and Mitt Romney appeared on the November ballot, you were … Continue reading The Election isn’t over yet…
The Roosevelts had planned for a "more homey" lighting of the National Christmas tree on December 24 in 1941. FDR had directed that the tree be moved from the Ellipse to the White House grounds, just next to the South Lawn Fountain. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there … Continue reading The 1941 Christmas Tree: A Bright Light in Dark Times
This is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is the Senior Registrar in the Exhibits Division. “It is impossible to increase taxes, disastrous to keep on borrowing, and inadequate to merely to cut expense.” This … Continue reading Jefferson in Paris: The Constitution, Part I
“As soon as I left the session, I knew that this would be a ground-breaking project for us,” said Bettina Cousineau, Exhibits Specialist at the Gerald Ford Library and Museum. Cousineau was at this summer’s Association of Midwest Museums Conference in Indianapolis, IN, and attended the session "Wikimedia: Commons and GLAM" presented by Lori Phillips, … Continue reading Ford Library participates in Wikimedia’s GLAM project
This is what President Harry Truman had for Thanksgiving in 1947. (Click to enlarge.) What dishes are going on your table this year? My favorite holiday is Thankgiving. No dispute. After all, it's a holiday that basically crafted entirely around the consumption of turkey. I'm not entirely sure that this is what Lincoln had in … Continue reading A White House Thanksgiving
