Join one of the “Amending America” exhibit curators Christine Blackerby for a Facebook Live video on the Huffington Post Politics page. On July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution became law. It is arguably the most important of the 27 amendments. The amendment originated after the Civil War when Congress attempted to pass … Continue reading Amending America: the 14th Amendment
Today’s post comes from Andrew Grafton in the National Archives History Office. Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon. Yosemite. For many Americans, the mere mention of these sites conjures up images of grandeur and magnificence. As the conservator of the United States’ most storied and important landmarks, the National Park Service is charged with the preservation and … Continue reading One Hundred Years of the National Park Service
The National Archives was created on June 19, 1934. During the month of June, the National Archives History Office is sharing stories about the former Archivists of the United States. Today's post comes from Sarah Basilion. Dr. Robert M. Warner served as sixth Archivist of the United States from July 1980 to April 1985. Originally from … Continue reading Fighting for Independence: Sixth Archivist Robert M. Warner
April 1, 2016, marks the 31st anniversary of the National Archives independence. Today’s post come from Kaitlin Errickson of the National Archives History Office. The National Archives has a turbulent history. First, the historical community had to fight for years and years to establish a National Archives. Then Congress passed legislation authorizing an independent National … Continue reading An Independent National Archives
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
The Refugee Act of 1980 is now on temporary display in the West Gallery of the National Archives Building. At the end of the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fled political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. Between 1975 and 1979, some 300,000 of these refugees were admitted to the … Continue reading On Display: The Refugee Act of 1980
Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the History Office at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Fifty years ago on October 3, 1965, at the base of the Statue of Liberty, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965 into law. The act was an important milestone in American immigration … Continue reading Fifty Year Later: A Brief History of the Immigration Act of 1965
Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, D.C. July marks the 25th anniversary of the historic moment when President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits employers, the government, and transportation, among other agencies and institutions, from discriminating against … Continue reading Towards Freedom and Equality: The Americans With Disabilities Act
Today’s post comes from Tom Eisinger, senior archivist at the Center for Legislative Archives in Washington, DC. When Richard O’Bryen, captain of the Philadelphia ship Dauphin, penned his July 12, 1790, letter to Thomas Jefferson, he had been a captive of the Barbary pirates in Algeria for almost five years. This letter, and others, helped bring … Continue reading Pirates: An Early Test for the New Country
Today's post, in honor of Flag Day, comes from Alex Nieuwsma, an intern in the National Archives History Office. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Stars and Stripes as the National Flag of the United States of America. Through its many changes and iterations, the American flag has come to … Continue reading The American Flag
