Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In honor of our Bill of Rights Twitter Contest, we thought it was high time to review all the tweeting that goes on in the National Archives family. While our tweets may be short, they are many, and so to … Continue reading NARA on Twitter
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Readers, we now live in a brave new world of abbreviation. What was once Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC. What was once the Science Fiction Channel is now SyFy. For many people, this sentence makes sense: "IMHO this is NSFW" (for … Continue reading Join our Bill of Rights Twitter Contest
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. When you think of Ben Hur, your mind probably goes to Charlton Heston riding a chariot around (and around) an arena in the 1959 classic. But what you should be thinking of is Union General Lewis Wallace's impressive goatee. Lew … Continue reading FHF: The Civil War story of Ben Hur
Lynn Ansfield, with her short, historically on-the-nose caption took the top honors in the last photo caption contest. Congrats, Lynn, you've won 30% off at the National Archives eStore just in time for the holidays! The Truman Library contains this photo of President Truman receiving a Thanksgiving turkey from members of the Poultry and Egg … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The issue of slavery divided the country under Abraham Lincoln's Presidency. The national argument was simple: either keep slavery or abolish it. But Abraham Lincoln, known as the Great Emancipator, may have also been known as the Great Colonizer when … Continue reading Lincoln to Slaves: Go Somewhere Else
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. According to Army Regulation 670-1, a soldier can now receive 31 military decorations "as a distinctively designed mark of honor denoting heroism, or meritorious or outstanding service or achievement." During the Civil War, there was only one: the Medal of … Continue reading The Medal of Honor
We may be a litttle short-staffed on this quasi-holiday, but I couldn't let Facial Hair Friday go by without a nod to some historic beards. Today's honoree is Gen. Albion P. Howe, veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War. When a captain in the U.S. Army, Howe served under Col. Robert E. Lee at … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: “Howe” do they do it?
Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving, as usual, on the fourth Thursday of November. Today shoppers are hitting the stores for "Black Friday" super discounts to kick off holiday shopping. But until 1939, Thanksgiving Day was traditionally the last Thursday in November. That year there were five Thursdays in the month, and concern about a shortened shopping season prompted … Continue reading Thanksgiving: Another FDR Experiment
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Here, in short, are the documents that made Thanksgiving. On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789, as an official holiday of "sincere and humble thanks." The nation then celebrated its first Thanksgiving … Continue reading Thanksgiving, as American as apple pie
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. As I write this, two turkeys are living it up at the "W" hotel across the street from the White House. The turkeys will be dining at the exclusive POV restaurant (as guests, not as dinner) when they aren't roaming … Continue reading Why does the President pardon a turkey?
