Today’s post comes from Natalie Rocchio, an archives specialist in the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. One of the most contentious issues facing our nation in the early years was slavery. Unsurprisingly, the First Congress received a series of antislavery petitions as part of the first unified campaign to the new Federal Government. … Continue reading From Ben Franklin to the Civil War: Antislavery Petitions in Congress
Today's post comes from Zach Kopin, intern in the National Archives History Office in Washington, DC. On May 28, 1943, Army Air Force bombardier Louis Zamperini’s B-24 airplane went down over the Pacific Ocean. Given the size of the Pacific and the distances covered by U.S. bombers, recovering downed aviators in the Pacific Theatre during World … Continue reading On Exhibit: Unbroken
Today’s post comes from Samantha Payne, intern in the Center for Legislative Archives. in Washington, DC. On January 29, 1790, Mary Katherine Goddard sent the Senate a singular request: to be reinstated as postmistress of Baltimore. After running the post office for 14 years, and paying post-riders with her own savings during the American Revolution, … Continue reading Changing the Boundaries: Women at Work in the Government
Continuing our celebration of the 225th Anniversary of the First Congress, the National Archives is displaying George Washington's first annual address from January 6 to February 4, 2015, in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives in Washington, DC. This version, from the first Journal of the House of Representatives, shows the final page of George Washington's annual address (what … Continue reading Currently on Exhibit: George Washington’s First Annual Message
Today’s post comes from Christine Blackerby, an Outreach Specialist at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivered a speech at Federal Hall in New York City. This speech, called his first annual message to Congress (which we now refer to as the State … Continue reading Annual Message on the State of the Union: The President Speaks
Today’s post comes from Christine Blackerby, an Outreach Specialist at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Two hundred and twenty-five years ago on January 4, 1790, the First Congress returned from a break after a very productive first session. Shortly afterward, the Senate received notice from President George Washington that he … Continue reading Advice and Consent and the Recess Appointment
What a year! Here's some of the highlights of the last 12 months of the National Archives that we shared on our blog. Thanks for reading in 2014--we'll see you in 2015 with more pieces of history! The National Archives turned 80 The Historian of the National Archives, Jessie Kratz, shared the stories of an agency … Continue reading A look back at 2014
In honor of Festivus, this seems like the perfect document for the airing of grievances. This feature was originally published in Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives (Summer 2013). At the National Archives, and almost any other archival institution, one of the principal rules for using original records is to keep the records in the same order … Continue reading An airing of grievances: A pension clerk’s appeal
This photo from August 29, 1954, shows the National Archives Building lit up for the very first time, its beautiful columns and attic story glowing while onlookers gather to witness the occasion. Surprisingly, while other Washington, DC, landmarks were illuminated, the National Archives stood dark every night for the first 19 years it was open. … Continue reading Illuminating the National Archives
Today's post comes from Ashley Mattingly, an archivist at the National Archives in St. Louis. The year was 1943, and Elizabeth “Betty” Maxine Chambers was a young mother and a widow. Betty’s husband, Army pilot Lt. Robert William Chambers, had died in 1942 when his P-38F Lightening aircraft crashed at Mills Field in San Mateo, … Continue reading A WASP’s Story
