On July 12, 1973, a massive fire broke out on the sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC.) After 5 days, and 381 men, the 10-7 for out-of-service was called over the emergency dispatcher’s radios. With the fire declared “out” emergency vehicles, first responders, and others who had supported their efforts, like the … Continue reading Still Triaging After All These Years: Preservation and Access of the Burned Files
And so, we enter the now-annual ritual of waiting and seeing if the National Archives (and most of the rest of the Federal Government) opens on October 1, or shuts down. The agency has been weathering financial storms since well before our modern shutdown era began in the mid-1990s. Anxiety over the paucity of funding … Continue reading What Budget Cuts Look Like, 1981
In mid-February 1967, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune published articles revealing that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been supporting various international youth groups and student organizations with financial assistance. As a Cold War measure, the U.S. Government, through the CIA, had been funding those private organizations to help … Continue reading Foreign Policy Fallout From CIA Funding Disclosures, 1967
Labor Day 1903 (National Archives Identifier 6010437) As the calendar turns to September and we pass Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer, you might be wondering about the Labor Day Holiday, the federal holiday that honors and recognizes the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements … Continue reading Labor [Day] Related Records in the National Register of Historic Places
In the aftermath of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, the Department of State received a cascade of condolences and expressions of grief from around the world. Those messages came from government officials, major institutions, newspapers, and private citizens. Subsequently, the Department published those communications as an appendix to the then-new … Continue reading The World Reacts to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Again.
Take some time off - it's August and time for vacation!
Today's post was compiled by the Special Access and FOIA Program staff at the National Archives at College Park, MD "Warning from the FBI" ca. 1941-1945 (NAID 516039; Local Identifier 44-PA-2313) In the Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, we conduct a review of records for information protected … Continue reading Happy Birthday FBI!
A May 1965, letter that Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration William J. Crockett sent to American ambassadors overseas provides unique insight into President Lyndon Johnson’s attitudes towards the work of the Foreign Service and its domestic U.S. context. As the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration, Crockett was the senior official in the … Continue reading President Johnson’s View of Diplomats and Diplomatic Work, 1965
Over the past few years, the National Archives has digitized and made available online through the National Archives Catalog many important records of the Department of State. The records consist largely of the various series of records that constitute the Department’s central files for the period from 1789 to 1910. As those records went online, … Continue reading Department of State Central Files, 1789-1910 Available Online: An Omnibus
Independence Day, 1931 (National Archives Identifier 6012077) Happy Birthday America! Today the United States celebrates its independence. Not surprisingly, there are a number of properties in the National Register of Historic Places that contain the word “independence.” In the Berryman cartoon seen above, the ongoing issue of independence for the District of Columbia is depicted. … Continue reading Independence Related Records in the National Register of Historic Places
