“The dependent widower. Wanted, a backbone! This ablebodied Scotch-Irish farmer after 50 years of farm life some miles from any railroad, came to Meridian, Miss. two years ago to obtain better school advantages for his children, (so he told me), and this is the way the children utilize those advantages, one child of 11 and one of 15 work in the knitting mill. Two smaller ones go to school very irregularly. I found the fathers occuptaion during the several days I was there, and from a neighbor’s testimony, to mainly consist of loafing around the corner grocery, toting dinner to the children, lolling around the house, and occasionally visiting the old farm. Regarding the effects of closing the Meridian Mill, he said; “Most of the men got work at other factories around here, while some moved away, but the greatest hardship was on the children. Now they have to go to school.” His sanctimonious disquisition on his love for the family was nauseating. In the back ground, (where the mill children are too often kept) is one of his youngsters, deprives of his right to toil. Meridian, Miss.” 4/26/1911
From the series: National Child Labor Committee Photographs taken by Lewis Hine, ca. 1912
Lewis Hine’s sharp eye for hypocrisy spares no expense in this particularly biting assessment.
Haymarket Square, Boston - a busier but lighter day, 40 years ago.
OUTDOOR FOOD MARKET AT HAYMARKET SQUARE. PUBLIC PROTEST SAVED THE SQUARE FROM INCORPORATION INTO AN EXPRESSWAY, 05/1973
From the Records of the Environmental Protection Agency (12/02/1970-)
Happy Friday! This weekend, check out some of the great markets in your area! Open since 1830, Haymarket Square in Boston, MA was almost closed during the 1970s, but was saved thanks to public outcry.
Source: http://go.usa.gov/2yTW
DOCUMERICA: The Photographers
DOCUMERICA PHOTOGRAPHER, DAVID HISER, AT DEAD HORSE POINT, 05/1972
David Hiser, photographer*
For the DOCUMERICA project, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hired nearly 100 freelance photographers to capture images relating to environmental problems, EPA activities, and everyday life in the 1970s. A panel of these photographers discuss their work shown in the exhibit, “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” including Jack Corn, Lyntha Scott Eiler, Tom Hubbard, Michael Philip Manheim, and John C. White. Presented in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. (Enter the National Archives Building through the Special Events entrance on Constitution Ave. )
(*Note that David Hiser will not be on the panel, but this is one of the few self-portraits in the DOCUMERICA series.)
The Jefferson Memorial, as it appeared 40 years ago. The memorial to the third President was dedicated 70 years ago today, on April 13, 1943.
JEFFERSON MEMORIAL (FOREGROUND) TO CAPITOL, LOOKING EAST, 05/1973
From the DOCUMERICA series, a program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency to photographically document subjects of environmental concern in America during the 1970s.
Find more images from DOCUMERICA at “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” now open at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
Photograph of Sam Maddox, Western Union No. 227, one of the young boys pretty close to the age limit. He was born Oct. 3, 1898, which makes him 13 years old. He has a permit to work from Juvenile Court. He has been troublesome in school., 04/10/1912
Lewis Hine, photographer
“‘Overseer Artayou Carrier whipped me. I was two months in bed sore from the whipping. My master come after I was whipped; he discharged the overseer.’
The very words of poor Peter, taken as he sat for his picture.”
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 4/2/1863
This 1863 photograph of “Peter,” a former slave displaying scars from his overseer’s whippings, was widely reproduced as evidence of slavery’s cruelty. The image was sometimes paired with a photo or drawing of “Peter” after his enlistment in the U.S. Army. “Peter” was sometimes identified as “Gordon.”
via DocsTeach
DOCUMERICA photographer Bill Reaves captured this field of flowers outside Llano Texas:
(FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES IN THIS ASSIGNMENT, SEE FICHE NUMBER 35.), 05/1972
From the Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )
Spring is officially here!
Source: http://go.usa.gov/2Xa5
Check out the exhibit in person if you can — having stared at many of these photos on a screen for years, seeing the full size prints is a whole new experience!
npr:
(via 16 Photographs That Capture the Best and Worst of 1970s America
A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade — one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion
Photo credit: National Archives
PIECE OF BULLDOZED DESERT ON THE EDGE OF TUCSON, ARIZONA. THE SAGUARO CACTUS ARE LEFT STANDING NEAR WHAT WILL BE A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. THE FATE OF OTHER SAGUAROS IS UNCERTAIN. MANY ARE DYING IN LESS DISTURBED PARTS OF THE DESERT IN THE AREA, 04/1974
Boyd Norton, Photographer. From the EPA’s DOCUMERICA Series
The Saguaro National Monument near Tucson, Arizona, was first established 80 years ago in March, 1933, later becoming the Saguaro National Park in 1994. (Given their proximity to a planned development, it’s unlikely this cluster of cacti was included in the National Monument, although the saguaro are protected in Arizona.)
DOCUMERICA Fan? Check out “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” now open at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
(Thanks to the America’s Great Outdoors Tumblr for the tip!)
HAVASU LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
From the Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )
Happy start of day light savings!
We’ll all enjoy an extra hour of sunlight this afternoon.
Source: http://go.usa.gov/2WH4
It’s Flashback Friday! In honor of our new exhibit “Searching for the Seventies,” we’re posting a DOCUMERICA photograph every Friday—and a question for you.
When you were growing up, what room in your house was covered with wood paneling from the 1970s?
Our colleagues at the National Archives Exhibits just gave their tumblr a groovy new facelift in conjunction with the new DOCUMERICA exhibit - be sure to check it out (their tumblr and the exhibit)!
We just got back from the special preview of the latest exhibition at the National Archives: Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project - it opens tomorrow, March 8!
HITCHHIKER WITH HIS DOG, “TRIPPER”, ON U.S. 66. U.S. 66 CROSSES THE COLORADO RIVER AT TOPOCK, 05/1972
Item from Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )
Bad fashion, odd fads, and disco dance music sum up the 1970s for many Americans. We contrast those years to the politically committed 1960s and economically booming 1980s. The decade of the seventies is remembered as one of soaring inflation, political corruption, and loss of prestige around the world. But the1970s were much more than leisure suits, streaking, and disco. Their importance goes beyond high gas prices, Watergate, and Vietnam. During the seventies, profound changes took root in our politics, society, environment, and economy.
“Searching for the Seventies: the DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” an exhibition opening Friday, March 8, 2013, at the National Archives in Washington, DC, offers a new look at the 1970s through the lens of an astonishing Federal undertaking. DOCUMERICA was a nationwide photography project run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The exhibition showcases 90 images from this multi-year program. Each day of the exhibition’s run, this site will feature one of the more than 21,000 other images in the collection.Source:http://go.usa.gov/2W2T
On Wednesday, February 27, at noon, author Eric L. Muller will discuss his book “Colors of Confinement.”
This program will also be streamed live over the National Archives UStream channel.
In 1942, Bill Manbo and his family were forced from their Hollywood home into an internment camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. Using Kodachrome film, Manbo captured community celebrations and recorded his family’s struggle to maintain a normal life. Eric L. Muller uses these photos to describe Japanese American life in the camps.The program will be held in the McGowan Theater at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The program is FREE. A book signing will follow the program.
