When you work with cartographic records at the National Archives, it is fair to say that you never know what you are going to randomly come across when you open a folder. Sometimes, it is a newer, published map. Sometimes (on a really great day) it is a 200-year-old manuscript map, and somedays, it's random … Continue reading Of Civil Works, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, and the Randomness of Records in the Cartographic Branch
You Can’t Do Business with Hitler
Office for Emergency Management, 179-WP-28, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/533886 The Office for Emergency Management created several radio series for the American homefront during World War II. Among these was You Can't Do Business with Hitler. We in the Moving Image and Sound Branch branch have recently worked to process this and other freshly-digitized materials from the OEM. You … Continue reading You Can’t Do Business with Hitler
Civil War Maps from the Army Corps of Engineers Now Digitized
Civil War era and related maps from the Army Corps of Engineers have been digitized and are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. The records are part of the Civil Works Map File series from Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. The records make up … Continue reading Civil War Maps from the Army Corps of Engineers Now Digitized
“Edited by Laura Thornburgh,” Pioneer of Motion Picture Education
Today, we take for granted that moving images are used to educate. Generations of school children grew up with teachers turning down the lights, rolling in a film projector or television and flipping a switch or pressing a button to start the show. It might be surprising to learn that there was a time when … Continue reading “Edited by Laura Thornburgh,” Pioneer of Motion Picture Education
Remembering 9/11
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. On September 11, 2001, four coordinated terrorist attacks were committed against the United States when two hijacked planes were flown into the North and South Towers at the World Trade Center, a third hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., … Continue reading Remembering 9/11
Montford Point Marines
In 1941 the United States had begun to prepare for the possibility of war and consequently, millions of jobs were being created. However, racial discrimination kept African Americans and other minorities from obtaining these defense industry jobs. In response to pressure from A. Philip Randolph, who had been organizing a march on Washington, and other … Continue reading Montford Point Marines
The Harlem Hellfighters Return Home
Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA's Statement on Potentially Harmful Language. Last week, the 369th Infantry Regiment, more famously known as the Harlem Hellfighters, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The honor comes more than a century after their service in Europe during WWI. The regiment … Continue reading The Harlem Hellfighters Return Home
“Listen, my friends”: Digitizing the 1968 Richard Nixon Campaign Speeches
Today's post was written by Allie Mackenzie Roberts. Roberts is an Audiovisual Preservation Specialist at the Richard Nixon Library. Richard Nixon successfully ran for the presidency in 1968 during a very tumultuous time in American history that included the Vietnam War and its protests, North Korea capturing a Naval vessel, the assassinations of Martin Luther … Continue reading “Listen, my friends”: Digitizing the 1968 Richard Nixon Campaign Speeches
Spotlight: 1968 White House Fashion Show
The White House hosted its first - and only - fashion show on February 29, 1968. The fashion show and luncheon was presented by the First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, and was titled "How to Discover America in Style." The audience included the wives of governors who were in Washington D.C. for the midwinter meeting … Continue reading Spotlight: 1968 White House Fashion Show
Subject Finding Aid Project (Update)
Hello my fellow Unwritten Recordians, I’m back with an update from the Still Picture Branch regarding progress on the Subject Finding Aid Project! As of my last post in June, we had one batch of descriptions live in the National Archives Catalog, with a second one on the way. As of today, the second AND … Continue reading Subject Finding Aid Project (Update)