Hats off to Bess Truman!

Here at Prologue: Pieces of History, we have Facial Hair Friday. On the Harry S. Truman Library's Facebook page, they celebrate Millinery Monday! When I was very little, I loved poking through my mother's old hatboxes stored in the basement. Alas, the era of wearing hats for every occasion had passed, but she had saved her … Continue reading Hats off to Bess Truman!

Thursday’s Caption Contest

When I voted to approve appropriations for the country’s highways, I didn’t think I’d have to build them!Last's week winning caption goes to Marc, whose plowman did not expect to have quite such an active role in government. If you thought this looked like a victorious pursuit for these two well-dressed gentlemen, you would be correct. … Continue reading Thursday’s Caption Contest

Aloha treatment for a 1954 Hawaii petition

The work the National Archives Preservation staff does every day is hardly "everyday." A recent post about Hawaii's petition for statehood on the Preservation Program's Facebook page demonstrated this fact. This preservation project stemmed from a request from our Center for Legislative Archives. Each archival unit creates annual and long-term preservation plans, and the Center's … Continue reading Aloha treatment for a 1954 Hawaii petition

Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

This week's winner is Tommy R! His clever caption combines the discoveries of the atomic age with a nifty Latin neologism. Tommy, we'll be sending you a 15% discount for the National Archives eStore. The original caption tell us that "Sister Mary Helene ven Horst, science instructor at Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa, teaches students … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

It’s Washington’s Birthday—really

Monday is a federal holiday, but what holiday is it? So many ads on television and in print tell us it's Presidents/President's/Presidents' Day. Images of Lincoln and Washington sometimes accompany these ads. But here at the National Archives, we know it's still officially Washington's Birthday. This year the holiday is actually close to GW's birthday … Continue reading It’s Washington’s Birthday—really

The National Archives–now in a novel near you!

Brad Meltzer’s new mystery novel—The Inner Circle, the no. 1 bestseller on the most recent New York Times list—is all about the National Archives. “I came to visit and I fell in love. Truly,” Meltzer says in an interview about the book in the forthcoming issue of Prologue, the quarterly magazine of the National Archives. … Continue reading The National Archives–now in a novel near you!

If our Founding Fathers had Twitter (Final!)

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. We here at the National Archives noticed that many politicians these days use Twitter to deliver messages. Often this involves using numbers instead of letters, and symbols to convey a complex point in just a few words. So we asked … Continue reading If our Founding Fathers had Twitter (Final!)

NARA on Twitter

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In honor of our Bill of Rights Twitter Contest, we thought it was high time to review all the tweeting that goes on in the National Archives family. While our tweets may be short, they are many, and so to … Continue reading NARA on Twitter

Join our Bill of Rights Twitter Contest

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Readers, we now live in a brave new world of abbreviation. What was once Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC. What was once the Science Fiction Channel is now SyFy. For many people, this sentence makes sense: "IMHO this is NSFW" (for … Continue reading Join our Bill of Rights Twitter Contest

Lincoln to Slaves: Go Somewhere Else

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The issue of slavery divided the country under Abraham  Lincoln's Presidency. The national argument was simple: either keep slavery or abolish it. But Abraham Lincoln, known as the Great Emancipator, may have also been known as the Great Colonizer when … Continue reading Lincoln to Slaves: Go Somewhere Else