Today’s post comes from Judith Adkins, an archivist with the Center for Legislative Archives in Washington, DC. In June 1969, patrons of New York City’s Stonewall Inn and their supporters took to the streets to resist police harassment. National Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month commemorates these events, widely credited with sparking the modern … Continue reading Before Stonewall: Facing Congress with Courage
Today’s post comes from Sonia Kahn in the National Archives History Office. Visit the National Archives website for a full list of events and activities related to the 100th anniversary of World War I. On June 15, 1917, just two months after the United States entered World War I, Congress adopted the Espionage Act. The act, … Continue reading Defining a Spy: the Espionage Act
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. After graduating from Howard University Law School in 1933, Marshall worked in private practice in his home town, Baltimore. In one of his earliest cases, he represented the local … Continue reading Honoring Justice Thurgood Marshall: the right man and the right place
June 9 is International Archives Day. It commemorates the day the International Council on Archives (ICA) was created in 1948. On International Archives Day, archives all over the world will host special events to show off their collections or the work that they do, and will share stories with each other and with fans of … Continue reading International Archives Day
Today’s post comes from Alan Walker, an archivist in Textual Processing at the National Archives at College Park. Now that the spring semester for colleges and universities across the nation has winded down, thousands of students are preparing to begin their internships. Many of them will come to Washington, DC, to work in the many federal agencies … Continue reading Our First Intern, 1939
May 29, 2017, marks the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s birth. Visit our JFK Centennial web page to celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States. The John F. Kennedy Library didn’t open for more than 15 years after the President’s death. It was originally supposed to have been … Continue reading Celebrating JFK
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our related holdings. Today's guest blogger is Zack Wilske, Senior Historian at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Chinese Exclusion Act case files held at National Archives facilities across the country provide valuable resources … Continue reading Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files and the USCIS Master Index
Every year I struggle with how I can show appreciation for my mom on Mother’s Day. This year I'm going retro and “making” my mom a gift by highlighting some of the National Archives holdings that relate to Mother’s Day. Although it was celebrated in several states for years, the first time Mother’s Day became … Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day!
Today’s post comes from Sonia Kahn in the National Archives History Office. Visit the National Archives website for a full list of events and activities related to the 100th anniversary of World War I. The draft—the lottery no one wants to win. On April 6, 1917, the United States formally joined World War I, which … Continue reading The origins of America’s Unlucky Lottery
This May we celebrate both Public Service Recognition Week and the centennial of the birth of a President closely associated with public service: John F. Kennedy. In Kennedy’s first inaugural address, in 1961, he made his famous call to public service by asking Americans “to ask not what your country can do for you—ask what … Continue reading A Call to Public Service: the Peace Corps
