Women munition workers urge President to support suffrage bill. Six women war workers, representing thousands of others, were delegated to see President Wilson and urge him to support the motion for an immediate passage of the federal suffrage amendment. These women were employed at Bethlehem Steel Company’s plant at Newcastle, Pennsylvania. They supplemented their argument with the statement that the women are serving the government in war industries and feel the urgent need of federal enfranchisement. From left to right: Miss Mary Gonzon, Mrs. Florence B. Hilles, Miss Lulu Patterson, Mrs. Marie McKensie, Miss Aida Walling and Mrs. Catherine Boyle. 05/24/1918
The Homestead Act of 1862 turns 150
Families filing homestead claims were required to prove 5 years of residence and make improvements to the land.
- “Turning over first sod on homestead.” Sun River Mont. By Lubkin, November 5, 1908
- “Hancock homestead. Settler from Benson, Minn.” Little girl feeding chickens against background of house, buckboard wagon, and ridge of plateau, Sun River, Mont. By Lubkin, June 23, 1910
- Residence of G. L. Rule Feb. 18, 1898. Have lived here since Sept. 1893.” Family stands in foreground; sod building and cabin in background, Arizona Territory
See the rest of our series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Homestead Act »
In 1932, home economists championed this thrifty couple’s use of home canning to provide fruits and vegetables for the family throughout the year.
Negro Family Budget of Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Bryan Expert Canners in Their Community, 05/19/1928
Bike to Work Day - not just a good idea, it’s the law!
Traffic violator driving a 1900-vintage car being stopped by a policeman on a bicycle
(We’re joking of course, though we agree it’s a great idea)
On May 15, 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association, decades later this delegation of women had a meeting with President Wilson.
This delegation of officers of the National American Woman Suffrage Association received from President Wilson a memorial to the French women in which he advocates the federal woman suffrage amendment. The picture was made on steps leading to executive offices of the White House. Front row, left to right: Mrs. Wood Park, Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, Mrs. Helen H. Gardner: second row, Miss Rose Young, Mrs. George Bass, and Miss Ruth White.
While we may think of them as First Ladies, their kids know them as “mom.” In celebration of Mother’s Day this weekend, we’ve combed the archives for family photos of First Ladies with their children. It’s our way of saying thank you to all the moms out there for…well, everything!
Up first, Eleanor Roosevelt and her daughter Anna. 1906.
May 10, 1869, the ceremonial Golden Spike was struck, connecting the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The 2000 miles of transcontinental track reduced the overland trip from four to six months to six days.
Photograph of Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory, Utah, 05/10/1869
11:00 A.M. Newsies at Skeeter’s Branch. They were all smoking. St. Louis, Mo., 05/09/1910
From the series: National Child Labor Committee Photographs taken by Lewis Hine
The April 18, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, estimated at 7.9 magnitude, was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming more than 3,000 lives. Congress responded to the disaster in several ways. The House and the Senate Appropriations Committees enacted emergency appropriations. Other congressional action included the House Claims Committee handling claims from owners seeking reimbursement for destroyed property. The Senate also passed a resolution asking the Secretary of War to furnish the Senate with a copy of a report on the earthquake and fire. The report on the relief efforts and accompanying captioned photographs, prepared by the U.S. Army, are now housed with the records of the Senate Committee on Printing and include the above photos.
Visit our featured document article for more information on this tragic event and the congressional response.
Photograph of Union Street Car Line After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127302)
Photograph of the Effect of Earthquake on Houses Built on Loose or Made Ground After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127357)
Photograph of Souvenir Hunters After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127316)
Photograph of St. Francis Hotel Showing the Clean Sweep of Fire in the Business Section of All Except Class A Steel Frame Buildings After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127289)
Photograph of a Military Camp on the Fourth Day After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127305)
Photograph of a Typical Bread Line in the Early Stages of Relief Distribution After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 306190)
Considered one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the San Francisco Earthquake struck on the morning of April 18, 1906.
Remembering the Titanic, 100 Years Later
While Titanic had 4 more lifeboats than required by law, it still only had enough room for half of the passengers and crew onboard—and only if they were at full capacity. Some of the first lifeboats launched were 1/2 empty.
Explore more records from the Titanic found at the National Archives at New York.
Between Bakersfield and Fresno, California. On the Freights. Twenty years old and he has been hopping freight cars on the bum for two years. His home, which he has visited occasionally for two or three days at a time, is in Oakland, California. Here his father on Work Projects Administration, his mother who is engaged as a domestic when she can find work, and his married sister with her child live in a small house where there is a crowded and insecure atmosphere. His family is misinformed as to his activities and is not aware of his penchant for freight car travel. At one time he enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps, but he quit after six months because the army routine was distasteful to him, so he went back to hopping the freights. He is a complete hobo and is not seriously in search of employment. He has no desire to travel as a gentleman hitch-hiker. “I wouldn’t thumb. Freights are a lot better.” 4/11/1940
Rondal Partridge, Photographer. From the Records of the National Youth Administration.
“Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas. On the day before the photograph was made she and her husband traveled 35 miles each way to pick peas. They worked 5 hours each and together earned $2.25. They have two young children… Live in auto camp. “ 04/11/1940
—Dorothea Lange, Photographer.
The photo is one of a series taken by Dorothea Lange and Irving Rusinow for an agricultural “Community Stability and Instability” study by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and which now form a record of pre-World War II rural life and social institutions.
Charlie Chaplin, comedy star of the “movies,” making his first speech for the third Liberty Loan in front of the State, War and Navy Building, Washington, D.C., on first anniversary of U.S. entry into war. 04/06/1918
San Francisco, California. The family unit in kept intact in various phases of evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry. …A view at Wartime Civil Control Administration station, 2020 Van Ness Avenue, on April 6, 1942, when first group of 664 was evacuated from San Francisco. The family unit likewise is preserved in War Relocation Authority centers where evacuees will spend the duration.
This photo of Japanese-American evacuees was taken by Dorothea Lange on April 6, 1942. Professional photographers such as Lange were commissioned by the WRA to document the daily life and treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
