On April 1, 2025, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) turns 40. Visit the National Archives History Office website for more information on the history of our agency. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation establishing the National Archives on June 19, 1934. For its first 15 years, the National Archives operated as an independent … Continue reading NARA Turns 40
As we prepare for next week’s inaugural activities, we are looking back on our nation’s very first Presidential inauguration back in 1789. After the U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, the Confederation Congress passed a resolution providing that the states should choose Presidential electors on the first Wednesday in January of 1789. Congress … Continue reading The First Presidential Inauguration
Today’s post on the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (PRMPA) comes from Laurel Gray, a processing intern with the Textual Division at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is the second of a four-part series on the archival ramifications of the Watergate scandal. President Nixon sits before edited transcripts of his White House taped conversations … Continue reading More Than Watergate: The PRMPA
On June 19, 1934, the National Archives was created as an independent agency. But just 15 years later, on June 30, 1949, Congress passed legislation moving the National Archives to the newly created General Services Administration (GSA) and renamed it the National Archives and Records Service (NARS). Today we’re looking at the events that led … Continue reading How the National Archives Became NARS
We’re taking a look at past staff and their many contributions to the National Archives throughout history. Today’s staff spotlight is in memory of Richard McCulley, who served was Historian at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. (L-R) Carl Ashley, David McMillen, Marc Rothenberg, and Richard McCulley at the … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: Richard McCulley, Historian of the Records of Congress
160 years ago on leap day, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant to be Lieutenant General of the Army. Three years into the U.S. Civil War, with no end in sight, President Abraham Lincoln needed to find a commander who could lead the U.S. to victory. Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1861-1865. (National Archives Identifier 530592) … Continue reading Lincoln’s Leap Day Nomination of Grant
As we celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, we’re looking back on the document's 175th anniversary—and a major exhibit at the National Archives Building. The original joint resolution of Congress proposing what we call the Bill of Rights has been on permanent display at the National Archives Building since … Continue reading The Bill of Rights at the National Archives Building
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
October is Filipino-American History Month, and we’re commemorating it with a post on Manuel Quezon and Philippine Independence from Alexandra Villaseran, an archivist with the Center for Legislative Archives. Today there are six nonvoting members in the U.S. House of Representatives: a Resident Commissioner representing Puerto Rico and one Delegate each for the District of … Continue reading Manuel Quezon and the Push for Philippine Independence
March is Women’s History Month. Visit the National Archives website for resources and virtual events related to women’s history. Today’s post comes from Callie Belback from the National Archives History Office. Today in the United States, anyone above the age of 18 can apply for a credit card or a loan and be considered solely … Continue reading On the Basis of Sex: Equal Credit Opportunities
