Join us today @USNatArchives on Twitter and Instagram for the #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesBlackEducation. We will be sharing stories from our Rediscovering Black History blog and our online Catalog. Thurgood Marshall, 6/13/1967. (National Archives Identifier 2803441) Thurgood Marshall was leader in the struggle against racial discrimination in the United States for a good part of the 20th … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: The Honorable Thurgood Marshall
Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center on an abnormally cold morning. Temperatures dipped below freezing, evidenced by the formation of icicles on the launch pad. Weather conditions had … Continue reading ‘Roger, go at throttle up’: The 35th Anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock, an archives technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. There was a time when the greatest threat during the Cold War was a nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. But for a moment during those tension-filled years, the United States almost nuked itself. The U.S. narrowly … Continue reading Brush with Catastrophe: The Day the U.S. Almost Nuked Itself
January 20 is Inauguration Day. Visit the National Archives website for more information on Presidential elections and inaugurations. At noon on January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden will recite the oath of office in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the … Continue reading A Promise to Faithfully Execute the Office: Presidential Inaugurations
Today’s post comes from Patrick Connelly, supervisory archivist at the National Archives at Philadelphia. The National Park Service (NPS) is well known for its robust efforts in the area of environmental and wildlife management. In 1959, the two clashed in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, forcing park officials to delicately weigh their solution. Great Smoky … Continue reading Russian Wild Boars at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
In a city park overlooking Lake Bemidji in northern Minnesota sit two larger-than-life statues depicting fictional lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his reliable companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The roadside attraction, created in 1937, is still very popular with tourists to this day. Statue of Paul Bunyan in Bemidji, Minnesota, 1947. (National Archives Identifier 2129751) The … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Paul Bunyan
As we put 2020 into the past, we’re taking a look back on the most popular posts published this year. Thank you to the National Archives staff who helped us share our love of history. 10. The fourth installment of a series about unratified constitutional amendments, Unratified Amendments: Regulating Child Labor, explored an amendment proposed … Continue reading Top 10 of 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, we’re taking a look back at a year unlike any other. The National Archives and Records Administration--with research rooms, museums, Federal Records Centers, and Presidential Libraries across the country--closed its doors in March and, for the most part, remained closed as part of our commitment to the health and … Continue reading A Look Back at 2020
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. For more information on events and resources at the National Archives, visit our Bill of Rights Day website. On September 25, 1789, the First Federal Congress passed the first proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution. … Continue reading The Bill of Rights: 14 Originals
The White House is full of holiday traditions from parties and decorations to the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and Menorah. Today we’re looking back on winter holidays for each President in our Presidential Library system. The National Christmas Tree is illuminated on the Ellipse in Washington DC, 12/9/2010. (National Archives Identifier 176553384) Before … Continue reading Winter at the White House
