Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore in the National Archives History Office, is in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month and looks at the legacy of the Bracero Program. From 1942 to 1964, millions of migrant workers crossed the border from Mexico into the United States as braceros, a Spanish word for a “laborer who works … Continue reading The Bracero Program: Prelude to Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement
June is National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, which honors the important contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to U.S. history and culture. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our related holdings. Today’s post from Jennifer Halpern looks at the immigration challenges faced by queer and gender nonconforming people … Continue reading Immigrating While Queer: Part I
We're wrapping up Irish American Heritage Month. Today's post comes from Chris Gushman, Archives Director, and Dorothy Dougherty, Programs Director, at the National Archives at New York City. The National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) Access to Archival Databases (AAD) launched nearly 20 years ago, providing free public access to several series of government records … Continue reading Exploring Irish History Through the Famine Files and Other Arrival Records
Today's post comes from Allison Finkelstein, a historian with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services History Office and Library. The USCIS History Office and Library recently released a new documentary film project, USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island. From 1892 to 1954, the federal immigration service and its employees processed more than 12 million … Continue reading USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island
Today's post comes from Jim Zeender, Registrar on the National Archives Exhibits Staff. On June 1, my colleagues Alexis Hill, Warren Halsey, and I culminated about nine months of work with a visit to the Lincoln Cottage on the grounds of the Old Soldiers Home. Terry Boone and Bill Nenichka had participated in previous trips. A … Continue reading The 1986 Immigration Act and My Lifetime Relationship with the Lincoln Cottage
Today’s post comes from Rebecca Brenner, an intern in the History Office at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Fifty years ago on October 3, 1965, at the base of the Statue of Liberty, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965 into law. The act was an important milestone in American immigration … Continue reading Fifty Year Later: A Brief History of the Immigration Act of 1965
October is American Archives Month. To celebrate, we are highlighting our staff around the country and their favorite records from the holdings in the National Archives. Today’s staff member is Elizabeth Burnes, an archivist at the National Archives at Kansas City. Her favorite record is the Alien File of Miosche Slodovnik. Here’s Elizabeth’s story: Researchers … Continue reading An A-File helps a journalist fill the gaps in her family story
Cast your vote for the Immigration Act to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15! On November 13, 1954, Ellis Island closed. More than 20 million immigrants had been processed through the island station since its opening in 1892. But immigration was still limited. From 1924 until … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: The Immigration Act
Today's blog post comes from Bruce Bustard, curator at the National Archives in Washington, DC. “Exercise your right to vote! This time, help shape the new exhibition space at the National Archives.” David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States The National Archives invites you to choose an original document for our new exhibition. America’s … Continue reading The people are voting. And the winner is . . . up to you!
Today's post comes from Nikita Buley, an intern in the National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications. The National Archives is on the West Coast, too! The National Archives at San Francisco (located in San Bruno, California) contains over 55,000 cubic feet of Federal records from the 1850s through the 1980s. The records come from … Continue reading Archives Spotlight: San Francisco
