The National Archives History Office continues to celebrate Black History Month with stories of former employees. Today’s post comes from Kaitlin Errickson. Harold Pinkett, ca. 1978. (National Archives History Office Collection) Dr. Harold Pinkett established many firsts for African Americans at both the National Archives and in the field of archival studies. His career was … Continue reading Harold Pinkett: An Archivist and Scholar
In celebration of Black History Month the National Archives History Office is sharing stories of African American former employees and their influence on the institution. Today's post comes from Kirsten Dillon. James "Jimmy" Dent Walker, born June 9, 1928, in Washington, DC, was a well-known genealogical consultant at the National Archives. During his career, Walker built … Continue reading James D. Walker: Lone Messenger to International Genealogist
Today Pieces of History kicks off a month-long celebration of Black History. The National Archives has millions of pages of records that document African American history—from Blacks serving in the Revolutionary War to the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. But behind those stories are the stories of the many African … Continue reading Celebrating Black History Month
Today’s post comes from Emily Niekrasz, an intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, DC. Since 1936, the National Archives has microfilmed documents in order to preserve frequently used originals and to allow researchers to study materials without making a potentially long and expensive trip to Washington, DC. The National Archives History Office … Continue reading The National Archives: A Pioneer in Microfilm Online Exhibit
At the start of World War II, African Americans serving in the Armed Forces were segregated into all-black units. They were also limited in the types of positions they could hold—blacks in the U.S. military did not fly planes. On April 3, 1939, Congress passed legislation expanding the Army Air Corps (the precursor to today’s … Continue reading Featured document: Tuskegee Airmen
In April 1952 Congress ordered the Library of Congress to transfer the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to the National Archives. The two documents were to go on public display in the National Archives Building along with the Bill of Rights, which was already at the Archives. While the Archives exhibition hall had been specifically … Continue reading Protecting the Bill of Rights: the Mosler Vault
On December 6, 1865, with Georgia’s ratification of the 13th Amendment, slavery throughout the United States became illegal. Just a few years earlier, in 1861, Ohio Representative Thomas Corwin proposed—and both Houses of Congress passed—a constitutional amendment that would have done the exact opposite. Corwin’s amendment read, "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which … Continue reading On Exhibit: Abolishing Slavery
Today’s post from Eric Rhodes, intern in the National Archives History Office, highlights the National Archives’ Native American holdings in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. In the 1930s, in an effort to remedy the hardships Native Americans had faced under U.S. policy, Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) John Collier took advantage … Continue reading “Indian New Deal”
In commemoration of the anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, today’s post comes from Sarah Basilion, an intern in the National Archives History Office. Sixty years ago, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old black woman, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, public bus. On December 1, 1955, Parks, a seamstress … Continue reading The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Today’s post is from Jim Worsham, editor of Prologue magazine, the quarterly of the National Archives. Was Dwight D. Eisenhower—the architect of the allied victory over the Nazis in World War II and our President during the peaceful 1950s—a secret New Dealer? Eisenhower, elected President as a Republican in 1952, brought in with him a Republican-controlled Congress. … Continue reading Was Ike a secret New Dealer?
