Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Today in 1860, 169 delegates convened in Columbia, South Carolina, to discuss the fate of their state. The decision was unanimous: South Carolina would secede from the Union. Declared in a terse four paragraphs, the Declaration of Secession set out … Continue reading Four paragraphs, five years of war
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. While the holiday season is a time for togetherness and reflection, some holiday posters leave you wondering, "did Santa just threaten me?" Yes, even bearded Old St Nick was recruited during World War II to keep the war factories churning, but … Continue reading FHF: Merry Christmas … Or else
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Carolyn Grey, you hit our funny bone hardest last week, when you added a snappy caption to a Civil War telegraph snipper. While we're not sure whether Apple will be rolling out the iPole anytime soon (though ostensibly it would have fewer … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. After more than 40 years of research and more than 14,000 documents, new discoveries are being made as scholars at the George Washington University continue to collect every scrap of paper associated with the First Congress of the United States. … Continue reading Inside the Vaults – The Bill of Rights
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. We here at the National Archives noticed that many politicians these days use Twitter to deliver messages. Often this involves using numbers instead of letters, and symbols to convey a complex point in just a few words. So we asked … Continue reading If our Founding Fathers had Twitter (Final!)
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. You may have noticed that things look a little different on our website today. That's because the National Archives just received a digital makeover, streamlining our look and feel and moving some items around on the back end too. While … Continue reading ‘Open’ for business
They just lit up the White House Christmas tree here in Washington, DC, and temperatures here have taken a North Pole-style turn for the worse (I am beginning to wonder if I'll need to knit myself a neard). So, here at Facial Hair Friday, I thought it might be time to do a search for "Santa" in … Continue reading FHF: Santa in the 70s
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. It's not all downhill for you, Jodi! In fact, things are looking up since you won last week's photo caption contest earning you 30% off at the National Archives eStore. The original caption? "Party 'nature sliding' on the perpetual snow … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Sixty-nine years ago today, the Congress of the United States declared war following the delivery of a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that included these words: "Yesterday ... a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of … Continue reading War Comes to America
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The year 1861 was a dire one for the United States. In its opening months, five southern states joined South Carolina in seceding from the Union. In the recent 1860 election, the victor Abraham Lincoln hadn't even appeared on the … Continue reading The other 13th Amendment
