Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. An earlier post described a minor contretemps involving use of the Department of State communications precedence indicator "NIACT" [Night Action]. That problem persisted over the years as demonstrated by a 1978 exchange of telegrams … Continue reading Why Did You Wake Us Up in the Middle of the Night?: Use of NIACT, 1978
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. One of the mainstays of intelligence collection is photography. Among the variety of images collected are overhead photography, aerial photography, and what can only be called regular photography. All three types are represented in … Continue reading Photographic Intelligence: The Civil War
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. On January 21, 1963, at the behest of McGeorge Bundy at the White House, the Department of State sent a circular telegram to 14 embassies in Europe and the U.S. mission in Geneva.[i] The … Continue reading Why Did You Wake Us Up in the Middle of the Night?: Use of NIACT, 1963
Today’s post is the first of a two-part series written by Victoria-María MacDonald and Emma Taylor, who are volunteers at the National Archives at College Park. The centennial anniversary of American involvement in World War I permits a closer look at the diverse racial and ethnic groups who participated in the Great War. In this … Continue reading Towards a History of Mexican American Participation in World War I, Part I
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The presidential election of 1972 came in the midst of the U.S. rapprochement with the USSR known as detente. Earlier in the year, President Richard Nixon traveled to Moscow for a major summit with … Continue reading The Presidential Election of 1972: Analysis of Soviet Bloc Opinion
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. As numerous scholars have demonstrated, World War II in the Pacific had a distinct racial aspect to it.[1] The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor reinforced a long-standing strand of American racial animosity towards … Continue reading Watching Out for Your Friends: 1942 Guidance for U.S. Propaganda in the Pacific During World War II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Australia is, today, a vital ally of the United States. As the Department of State's February 2017 factsheet on relations with Australia notes, the relationship is "underpinned by shared democratic values, common interests, and … Continue reading The Importance of Australia, 1941
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. World War II began on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. France and Great Britain, fulfilling their international obligations, declared war on Germany but could do little to aid the Poles … Continue reading British Opinion About The United States After Pearl Harbor
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. World War II was not only a war of battleships and bullets. Words, in the form of overt and covert propaganda and psychological warfare, played an important role. See the post Airplanes over France for examples … Continue reading War of Words: Race-Based Propaganda During World War II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. During World War II, the U.S. government produced propaganda films to rally public support. Among the most famous of those motion pictures is Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress released in 1944. The … Continue reading Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
