It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! Visit National Archives News for resources on related records in our holdings. Today’s post comes from Callie Belback from the National Archives History Office. On August 8, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the third woman, the first woman of color, and the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court. President Barack Obama greets … Continue reading Hispanic Heritage Month: Sonia Sotomayor
February is Black History Month. Visit our website for information on related resources and virtual events. Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. Civil rights encompasses a broad range of activities that engage citizens of all backgrounds—the right to vote, to lawfully assemble, … Continue reading The Fight for the Right to Marry: The Loving v. Virginia Case
Join us today @USNatArchives on Twitter and Instagram for the #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesBlackEducation. We will be sharing stories from our Rediscovering Black History blog and our online Catalog. Thurgood Marshall, 6/13/1967. (National Archives Identifier 2803441) Thurgood Marshall was leader in the struggle against racial discrimination in the United States for a good part of the 20th … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: The Honorable Thurgood Marshall
In celebration of Black History Month, we are taking a look at the landmark case Green v. New Kent County. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock, archives technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. There was a time when “freedom of choice” was no choice at all. After the landmark case Brown … Continue reading The Gridlock of Racial Segregation: When the Light Turns from Brown to Green
This year we have Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s returning to the National Archives on December 14, 2018, for our annual Bill of Rights Day naturalization ceremony. Today's post comes from Danielle Sklarew in the National Archives History Office. When Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited the National Archives on August 26, 1993—16 days after she … Continue reading Notorious RBG at the National Archives
Today's post comes from James Worsham, editor of publications for the National Archives. The U.S. Supreme Court this week decided not to get involved in whether certain legislative and congressional districts have been “gerrymandered”—a practice that dates to the early days of the country. The cases before the court involved a practice in which districts … Continue reading The “Gerry” in Gerrymandering
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. After graduating from Howard University Law School in 1933, Marshall worked in private practice in his home town, Baltimore. In one of his earliest cases, he represented the local … Continue reading Honoring Justice Thurgood Marshall: the right man and the right place
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), is the landmark the Supreme Court decision that requires states to provide defense attorneys for criminal defendants who can’t afford them. The case centers on Clarence Earl Gideon, a poor drifter with an eighth-grade education. Gideon was arrested in 1961 for allegedly breaking into pool hall and stealing money and alcohol. … Continue reading Featured Document: A Right to a Fair Trial
Continuing our celebration of the 225th Anniversary of the First Congress the National Archives is displaying the original Judiciary Act of 1789. For three months beginning September 17, 2014, you can see the landmark piece of legislation in the Rubenstein Gallery at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Article III of the U.S. Constitution established the Supreme … Continue reading On Exhibit: The Judiciary Act of 1789
Cast your vote for the 26th Amendment to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15! Congress can move quickly. The 26th Amendment was ratified in 100 days, faster than any other amendment. In April 1970, Congress controversially lowered the voting age to 18 as part of legislation to … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote”
