Today’s post comes from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Office of Public and Media Communications. Seventy years ago, Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) delivered her “Declaration of Conscience” speech, criticizing Senator Joseph McCarthy and his anti-communist campaign. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, ca. 1954 (Records of the U.S. Information Agency, National Archives) Her 15-minute speech … Continue reading Margaret Chase Smith: Breaking the Barrier
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, but this landmark event was neither the beginning nor the end of the story for women and their struggle for the right to vote. Join us in 2020 as we commemorate this centennial year with 12 stories from our holdings for you to save, print, or share. October’s … Continue reading 19th Amendment at 100: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Aside from her powerful self-portraits, Mexican artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo is perhaps most known for her unibrow, a purposeful statement rejecting stereotypes about what conventional beauty looks like. She is the subject of today’s Facial Hair Friday. Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was born in 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico. Known … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Frida Kahlo
Today’s post comes from Tessa Campbell, senior curator at the Hibulb Cultural Center located on the Tulalip Reservation. The Tulalip Reservation is located in the State of Washington, 30 miles north of Seattle, and is the name of a place; not the name of a people. Their current exhibit, The Power of Words: A History … Continue reading The Birth of an Eternal Document: The Point Elliott Treaty
Today's post remembers Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was adapted from a 2018 post when she visited the National Archives for a naturalization ceremony. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affectionately known as RBG, was a frequent visitor and a good friend to the National Archives. Chief Justice William Rehnquist swearing in Ruth … Continue reading Notorious RBG Remembered
September 17 is Constitution Day commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Fifty years ago, all four pages of the U.S. Constitution went on display at the National Archives for the first time. First exhibit of all four pages of the U.S. Constitution in the National Archives Rotunda, 9/17/1970. … Continue reading The Entire Constitution for Constitution Day
Today’s post comes from Andrew Salyer, an archives technician at the National Archives at Philadelphia. The U.S. Congress passed the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, though the conditions its passage sought to remediate had been brewing as early as the 1850s. From the 1850s to the 1880s, Chinese workers migrated to the United States and … Continue reading Navigating the Law: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Trials of a Journey Home
Fifty years ago, the National Archives accessioned its first electronic record. This happened in large part due to the work of longtime staff member Meyer Fishbein. Fishbein worked at the National Archives for nearly 40 years, often sporting a mustache or a beard. Meyer Fishbein was born May 6, 1916, in New York City. After … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Meyer Fishbein
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, but this landmark event was neither the beginning nor the end of the story for women and their struggle for the right to vote. Join us in 2020 as we commemorate this centennial year with 12 stories from our holdings for you to save, print, or share. September’s featured image is of Susan … Continue reading 19th Amendment at 100: Susan B. Anthony
Today’s post comes from Ben Miller, an intern with the Exhibits team at the National Archives Museum. On August 31, 1852, Congress appropriated $100,000 to create the government hospital for the insane in Washington, DC. Soon known as St. Elizabeths, the hospital was meant to be a “model institution,” providing the highest quality mental health … Continue reading Treating Race at St. Elizabeths Hospital
