Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. The President of the United States is one of the most famous positions in the world. But the first … Continue reading Constitution 225: The President
Do sideburns set your heart aflutter? It's been 35 years since Elvis Presley died, but judging from the media coverage and chatter on Twitter with #ElvisWeek, his fan base is still enthusiastic. But the some of the most passionate fan letters about the bewhiskered singer can be found in the National Archives. In 1958, Linda … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Presley, Presley is our cry!
When Harry S. Truman Library Director Mike Devine flew to Seoul, South Korea, the last thing he expected to see was an enormous outdoor exhibit featuring photos from the holdings of the National Archives. “In the last decade or so, we’ve had quite a number of researchers from Korea to the Truman Library to copy … Continue reading Korean War exhibit in Seoul features National Archives images
Today's guest post comes from Tammy Kelly, archivist and hat aficionado at the Truman Presidential Library. I admit it—I love hats. I have several vintage hats in my closet, but I find them challenging to wear because sometimes, I just don’t know how to wear them. People no longer wear hats on a regular basis, … Continue reading Hats off to Bess Truman!
Jim Thorpe was stripped of his Olympic gold medals in 1913, but it was not because of illegal drugs, cheating, or bribery. It was because of baseball. Thorpe was a Native American from Oklahoma. He went to the Sac and Fox Indian Agency school in Stroud, OK, but dropped out. Later he attended the Carlisle … Continue reading The Greatest Athlete of the First Half of the Century
Today’s guest post is by Bob Beebe, archives technician at the Federal Records Center in Lenexa, Kansas. Where’s the coolest place to work at the National Archives? The Ice Cube, of course! At the Federal Records Center (FRC) in Lenexa, Kansas, one storage bay stands out from all of the other rooms at our facility. … Continue reading Working at the National Archives: Inside the Ice Cube
It was a long, hard journey to the United States in the early 20th century, but even a successful voyage did not guarantee that the immigrant would be able to enter or stay. Deportation was a threat. When immigrants were deported, it could be because of serious crime like murder or petty crime like theft. … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Mustaches and Moral Turpitude
This is part of a series, written by Jim Zeender, devoted to letters written by the Founding Fathers in their own words and often in their own hand. Jim is a senior registrar in Exhibits. Shortly after the diplomatic break between John Adams and Count de Vergennes, Adams left for Amsterdam. Once there, he worked … Continue reading In their own words: Franklin, Adams, and Vergennes make peace (IId)
People often refer to the National Archives as a “treasure trove” of history. Usually they’re referring to the wealth of knowledge documented in our billions of pieces of paper. But occasionally you come across something that would not be out of place in a real treasure chest. At the end of the 19th century, thousands … Continue reading Striking Gold in the Records
Today's blog post is written by Susan K. Donius and Sierra Gregg. Susan K. Donius is the Director of the Office of Presidential Libraries at the National Archives and Records Administration. Sierra Gregg is a summer intern at the National Archives and a senior at Truman State University in Missouri, where she is studying Computer … Continue reading Disability History from the Presidential Libraries
