More than 400 White House staff came to see Richard Nixon say farewell at 9.32 a.m. in the East Room of the White House. And when Nixon and his family walked to the waiting helicopter, staff and guests crowded across the lawn and porch. There were hundreds of people at the White House that historic morning. But politics … Continue reading Strange bedfellows: Nixon, Bush, and Sawyer
Last week on Facebook, I posted up a image that my colleague found for Shark Week. It wasn't a biological shark, but a mechanical one. The caption provided some basic information: "A Chinese soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the 'Flying Tigers,' at a flying field somewhere in … Continue reading Tag! You know something!
Today's post comes from Gregory Marose, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. When Russia sold the Alaska territory to the United States in 1867, Czar Alexander II did not take part in the negotiations. Could it be that he did not want to take time away from meticulously manicuring his … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: From Russia With Love
Today's guest post for "What's Cooking Wednesdays" comes from Acting Director Patrick Connelly with Education Specialist Christopher Zarr of the National Archives at New York City. Sometimes walking down the stacks of the National Archives can be like walking down the aisles of your local supermarket. Names like Heinz, Anheuser-Busch, Hershey, Sara Lee, and Perrier line the shelves of the National Archives. … Continue reading Aunt Jemima, what took you so long?
Today's guest post is from Samuel Rushay, senior archivist at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, who is featured in our newest "Inside the Vaults" video about the adventure of John Paton Davies. “…I stood in the open door of that miserable [C-46, Curtis] Commando and decided—`Well, if nobody else is going to jump, I’ll jump. … Continue reading Headhunters and diplomats in the Truman Library
You may have seen some of these beards and mustaches before! The mug shots of prisoners at Leavenworth Penitentiary have been featured here and here. But the images above take facial hair to a whole new level! Staff at the National Archives at Kansas City got together and created Potatriot dioramas (inspired by this post). … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Prisons, Potatoes, Pipe Cleaners
“What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?,” our current special exhibition in Washington, DC, examines the Government’s effect on what Americans eat. Government influence was especially visible during wartime, when many food products were reserved for feeding the troops and our Allies. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover, urged the American people … Continue reading World War I food conservation: “Pan de la libertad”
Today's post comes from Gregory Marose, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. UPDATE: Capone's criminal case file has been digitized and is now online. Al Capone—the quintessential American gangster—headed the nation’s most notorious organized crime syndicate for more than a decade during Prohibition. Through smuggling, bootlegging, and a variety of … Continue reading The Taxman Cometh: U.S. v. Alphonse Capone
This week saw the 150th anniversary of the first Battle of Manassas, with hundreds of reenactors and spectators ignoring the extreme heat and coming to the Virginia battlefield. There was another, stranger Civil War anniversary today. On July 22, 1975, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to restore full American citizenship to … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Amnesty for this beard, 100 years later
Today's post comes from Gregory Marose, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. Sometimes sharing a good meal is the best way to resolve the differences you may have with another. For the United States and China, this strategy helped normalize relations during the peak of the Cold War. Today, the … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Dinner Diplomacy Thaws the Cold War
