Baseball fans, don’t miss a fascinating exhibit of baseball documents from our holdings now on display at the National Archives in Atlanta! We are showing selected documents and exhibits from a civil court case where the maker of the “Louisville Slugger” baseball bat sued a Georgia bat manufacturer.
Image above: U. S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division, Equity Case Files, July 1926-March 1937, Case #72, Hillerich and Bradsby, Co. versus Hanna Manufacturing, Co.
All the documents of “homesteaders” stealing land from Native Americans is bumming me out.
We got a range of reactions to our recent series on the Homestead Act’s 150th anniversary - from angry to enthusiastic to, well, bummed out.
The Homestead Act is a difficult document. When we think of homesteaders, most of us probably think of “Little House on the Prairie” and not the Trail of Tears*. In many cases those recent immigrants who may have been disenfranchised at home and eager for opportunities of their own were now participating in the dispossession of another culture. It’s hard not to be conflicted.
But as the National Archives, we are supposed to present the records in our safekeeping. Our job is not interpret them beyond explaining the context of the time, although we exist for researchers, historians, and the public to use our records to research, understand, and interpret the past. However, we don’t always have the records from both sides—a challenge faced by many researchers and historians. As it was we could only allude to the impact on Native Americans with the digitized items that we found on short notice (thanks to some amazing colleagues who came through in a pinch), so this is a reminder to us to delve more deeply into our holdings to give a fuller idea of the documents that we hold, even if this part of history is difficult one to acknowledge.
Yes, history can get us down too: it’s full of stolen land, genocide, child labor, war, disasters and murder. But we’re obligated to present the records of U.S. history—the good, bad & ugly. If you’re not bummed out sometimes by our posts, then we’re probably not doing our job.
Of course we hope that’s not always the case—and we appreciate everyone that took time to comment, reblog or retweet with their own opinions on these posts.
(* Admittedly the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and Trail of Tears predate the Homestead Act but the effects are similar.)
Margie was a very different kind of pin-up girl. She was not salacious, and her clothes were neatly buttoned up. She was a young wife on the homefront pining for soldier husband, and her serious and articulate “letters” that appeared alongside her image were about managing money. But she was a big hit with the young men fighting overseas during World War II.
“Margie” was created to encourage soldiers to manage their pay. Her letters informed soldiers about soldiers’ deposits, personal transfer accounts, Class E allotments of pay, War Bonds, and National Service Life insurance. The posters were distributed in posts, commands, and theaters of operation.
She was also a real person. Margie Stewart passed away this May at the age of 92. She was not a soldier, but she gave the men overseas a reason and a reminder to plan for a life with their sweethearts after the war ended.
These posters are part of the holdings of the National Archives and can be found in Record Group 44.
Boxing Our Treasures
This video takes viewers inside the preservation lab at the National Archives where specialists construct custom boxes for items as varied as a Cold War-era pistol and a 1761 Indian treaty. The boxes can be simple, built to house a book — or extremely complex, holding multiple, related items in multi-chambered constructions.
Conservation technician Richard Hnat shows how items are digitally measured and conservation specialist Doug Mcrae shows how those measurements are translated into custom instructions for the Archives’ automated box-making machine. Harriman explains that the materials used to construct housings meet rigid archival standards: acid free, lignin free, high cotton content, etc.
With the country continually expanding and growing, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Acts in 1862, authorizing two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct a transcontinental railroad. Work began the next year, and eventually over 18,000 Chinese, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants worked on the project. The last spike was driven on May 10, 1869, in a ceremony at Promontory, Utah.
Memorial and Joint Resolution relative to a grant of Lands, 2/11/1858, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
Letter from Secretary of the Interior, 1/14/1869, Records of the U.S. Senate
As the honorary “junior curator” is actually a huge fan of the Big Broadcast, we’ll be “tuning in” tomorrow night:
(It’s almost shocking, albeit gratifying, that a 9-yr-old will put down his Nintendo DS to listen to the radio.)
We released the 1940 census on April 2, and this Thursday at 7 pm, we host a program on the radio shows that Americans of that era listened to!
Ed Walker, host of WAMU’s longest-running radio show “The Big Broadcast,” and Rob Bamberger, host of “Hot Jazz Saturday Night,” will discuss the history of the show. They’ll also present a sampling of the vintage radio broadcasts and discuss how the programs enriched the lives of Americans in the 1930s and 1940s. (Details here: http://go.usa.gov/VvU)
What radio shows or stations did your family listen to when you were growing up?
(More) Records of Chinese Deportees, 1912-1920
These records are part of a series of forms processed as individuals were deported under enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Each record in this series, which is dated around about 1910-1920, usually includes a physical description of the person and an indication as to where he was deported to and the ship on which he was sent. Some of the records also indicate further reasoning for the deportations and additional information about the individuals.
Observing Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
To pay tribute to the many generations of Asian-Pacific Americans that have enriched our nation’s history, the National Archives at Riverside will be highlighting some of our holdings relating to Asian American history in our region (Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, NV), including records relating to enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, records relating to Japanese internment and relocation, and many more.
For more information about Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, see http://asianpacificheritage.gov/
Join us Wednesday, May 9, at noon for the return of Archives Jeopardy!
Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero hosts another edition of Archives Jeopardy! Audience members will be selected to test their historical knowledge and win prizes. It’s free and open to the public.
Join us in the William G. McGowan Theater, located in the National Archives Building on 700 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC.
via The Text Message » Happy World Red Cross Red Crescent Day!:
Henry Dunant administering aid on the battlefield in Solferino, Italy (by Charles Édouard Armand-Dumaresq), from ARC ID 6060466
Today is Henry Dunant’s birthday (born May 8, 1828), the Swiss founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, now celebrated as World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.
In honor of that holiday, we thought we would mention some Red Cross records of historical interest that can be found at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II) in Collection ANRC, Records of the American National Red Cross.
The series “Monographs, 1946-1986″ (National Archives Identifier 5752176)contains copies of historical monographs and background papers to the monographs created by the American Red Cross Historical Division between 1946 and 1986, covering the period 1807 to 1948 from the origins of the Red Cross movement to the post-World War II activities of the American Red Cross.
The series “History Files, 1895-1998″ (ARC Identifier 5835043) contains records relating to the history of the American Red Cross and the Red Cross movement. Historical subjects covered include the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India; aid to Jews during World War II; aid to refugees in the Ottoman Empire in 1922; children’s relief in Serbia in 1944; and medical service to Israel in 1949.
The series “General Records, 1919-1999″ (National Archives Identifier 5730890) contains records from the League of Red Cross Societies, the predecessor to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
These are only three series of many found in Collection ANRC that researchers with a historical interest in the American Red Cross and the Red Cross movement in general should look to when conducting their research. Happy World Red Cross Red Crescent Day! Come to Archives II in College Park, Maryland to research these and other records relating to the history of the Red Cross movement.
This week marks the bicentennial celebration of the statehood of Louisiana. Among the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at the Center for Legislative Archives are many documents that illustrate the important role Congress plays in the creation of states. For Louisiana the road to statehood was relatively short; it became a state less than 10 years after being acquired from the French Government under provisions of the Louisiana Purchase. Visit our featured documents page for selection of congressional records that document Louisiana’s journey to become the 18th state in the Union.
Proclamation of Governor William Claiborne, 12/20/1803, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
President Jefferson’s nomination of William Claiborne, 11/30/1804, Records of the U.S. Senate
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana, 1/22/1812, Records of the U.S. Senate
HR 88, 3/20/1812, Records of the U.S. Senate
1 Year of Today’s Document on Tumblr!
May marks our 1-year anniversary here on Tumblr — and we’ve had a blast! Unbelievably in that time we’ve grown to over 20,000 followers! Here’s a celebratory look back at our 1100+ posts from the last year.
From the Today’s Document team at the National Archives, we just wanted to give a quick thanks to Tumblr and our fellow history nerds, fans, rebloggers and all our other followers!
What was your favorite Today’s Document?
The Archives I Conservation lab is featured in a wonderful two-page spread in the May 2012 issue of Washingtonian magazine. On pages 26-27, the spread is in the “Capital Comment” section called “Behind the Scenes” and is titled”Treasure Trove.” Congratulations to Morgan Zinsmeister, Annie Wilker, and Daniel Dancis!
Happy May Day!
For those of you thinking about romps around the maypole, and cute kids dressed up as May kings and queens, think again.
MayDay is also a day when archives, libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations participate in a national effort to prepare for disasters. MayDay encourages us to take one simple step to protect the holdings under our care.
This year, Preservation Programs has created signs to hang in the stacks that list the First Four things you need to do if you see that records are at risk.
Although these signs are designed specifically for the National Archives, the concept holds true for any institution. The main things to remember are:
- Safety First!
- Report the incident (Exactly who to report it to will depend on your situation).
- Do not move wet records. It’s safer for you and the records to wait until the situation has been stabilized.
If the event is large enough, call a reputable recovery vendor who has experience working with document recovery.
Here at NARA, we take records emergencies seriously, and we all have a role to play in protecting the nation’s records against damage from emergencies. This is why all of our facilities have records emergency plans that are updated annually.
What are you doing for MayDay 2012?
Happy Birthday to John James Audubon!
The artist was born in Haiti in 1785. He was sent to America in 1803, and lived on the family farm outside of Philadelphia, where he proved that the same birds return to the same nesting sites each year by tying strings around their legs. After 10 years in business—painting all the while as his hobby—Audubon went into the wilderness on an epic quest to paint the birds of American. A few years later, he sailed to England where his work “The American Woodsman” was an overnight success.
via the US National Archives on Facebook »
What is your favorite American bird?
Merilda, carrying cranberries. Rochester, Mass., 09/13/1911
From National Child Labor Committee Photographs taken by Lewis Hine
April 26 is Take your Child to Work Day, including here at the National Archives. This Lewis Hine photo was selected by junior-web-curator-in-training Eamon C., age 8. We chose this photo as a sobering reminder that bringing kids to work was not always a solely educational or infrequent experience. Of this photo he says:
“This is a good picture except that the girl is showing sadness. I think that I’m lucky that I get to go to school and not work.”
Did you bring your daughter or son to work today — or did you ever get to shadow your parents at work?
