New Deal faces old court

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. When the sweeping laws of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal were enacted, it did not take long for the laws to get challenged in the courts. From Social Security to a spate of other laws meant to revamp an economy … Continue reading New Deal faces old court

You can grow a mustache, but you can never leave

Did you catch Mugged! Facing Life at Leavenworth at the  National Archives at Kansas City this summer? The exhibit may be closed now, but you can learn more about the prison, its inmates, and its records in this new article from Prologue. And it's not too late to see some more mug shots from the exhibits. Check … Continue reading You can grow a mustache, but you can never leave

Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Well, it's not synchronized swimming on land, it's legitimate life saver training in Idaho, circa 1936. You can view the ARC entry for this photo (a record of the FDR Presidential Library) by clicking on the picture at left. Andrea … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

Here to help: How to protect and recover your documents from disaster

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Hurricane Alex hit Mexico. Torrential rain overflowed Massachusetts. Flash floods devastated Arkansas. When the debris settles after such natural disasters, families will have to search their belongings for forms and documents that prove who they are and what they own. … Continue reading Here to help: How to protect and recover your documents from disaster

New York State of Mind–er, Archives

I'm beginning to wonder if we even covered the Civil War at all in AP History. Before joining the National Archives, I had never heard of the Battle of the Crater, did not know that Confederate ships sailed all over the world, and had no idea that the Civil War had a draft and you … Continue reading New York State of Mind–er, Archives

NPRC helps solve headstone riddle at Arlington National Cemetery

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. When Washington Post reporter Christian Davenport uncovered the headstones of American veterans lying in a murky stream bed at Arlington National Cemetery this month, NARA's National Personnel Records Center was solicited to help identify one of the partially legible grave markers. … Continue reading NPRC helps solve headstone riddle at Arlington National Cemetery

Swiss you were here!

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The New York Times called it "engrossing and eminently fascinating." The Richmond Times Dispatch said "Discovering the Civil War" "isn't your typical Civil War retrospective." And the Neue Zurcher Zeitung called the National Archives' newest exhibit, "einer grandiosen Ausstellung in … Continue reading Swiss you were here!

Mother–she isn’t quite herself today

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Few individuals had a more, ah, peculiar relationship with their mother than Norman Bates in the movie Psycho, which premiered 50 years ago today in New York City. The movie was a one-of-a-kind in terms of suspense and shock, but … Continue reading Mother–she isn’t quite herself today