Three women working on exhibit cases.

The Freedom Train, 1947-1949

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Early in my career at the National Archives, my branch chief assigned me the task of describing the records of the American Heritage Foundation, part of the National Archives Gift Collection. This sounded boring, and somewhat was … Continue reading The Freedom Train, 1947-1949

When the FBI Used a Stamp Collecting Club as a Counterintelligence Tool

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In doing research in declassified Federal Bureau of Investigation records at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., I ran across a file [105 -174254] describing a counterintelligence operation about a Chinese Communist stamp collecting club. Even though the … Continue reading When the FBI Used a Stamp Collecting Club as a Counterintelligence Tool

Appraising FBI Records in New York City and Los Angeles, 1981: A Personal Diary

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In going through my papers I found that early in 1982 I had written a paper regarding the 1981 appraisal of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records by a team of National Archives and Records Service (NARS)[1] … Continue reading Appraising FBI Records in New York City and Los Angeles, 1981: A Personal Diary

Soviet Intelligence in the United States, 1971

Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The extent of Soviet espionage in the United States was a perpetual question of the Cold War.  From the time of the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917, but especially during the Great Depression, many … Continue reading Soviet Intelligence in the United States, 1971

The Department of State Reacts to Public Revelations of Intelligence Activities, 1964

Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The book The Invisible Government, published by Random House Publishers in 1964, is one of the first major exposés of the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  The book was written by the … Continue reading The Department of State Reacts to Public Revelations of Intelligence Activities, 1964

Run for the border: Beer Bootlegging during the Prohibition

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver. “Dear Sir. This Company is not making any ‘near-beer of any kind at present and not until Mont. goes dry yours very truly Lewistown Brewing Co.” So wrote Gus Hodel and his Lewistown Brewing Company of Montana in April 1918, a … Continue reading Run for the border: Beer Bootlegging during the Prohibition

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Records Relating to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: The Challenge of Abbreviations and Euphemisms

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. With the recent releases of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy it might be useful for readers of Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) records that form part of the released records, to better understand actually … Continue reading The Federal Bureau of Investigation Records Relating to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: The Challenge of Abbreviations and Euphemisms

Redheaded Bertha and William Greene: Persecuted Love in the Arizona Territory

Today's post is written by Kimberly Gorman, an Archives Technician at the National Archives at Riverside, CA Currently, I am working on processing records from Record Group 21, Records of the District Courts of the United States, which is the largest collection of records we have here at the National Archives at Riverside.  RG 21 … Continue reading Redheaded Bertha and William Greene: Persecuted Love in the Arizona Territory

Can a Souvenir Lead to the Slammer? The Denver Mint Weighs in on Elongated Coins

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and collector of elongated coins, having picked up over 600 in his travels across the United States. Crushed penny. Pressed penny. Smushed penny. Squished penny. Regardless of the name, when you start to look, one sees them everywhere: at zoos and … Continue reading Can a Souvenir Lead to the Slammer? The Denver Mint Weighs in on Elongated Coins

Women in Police Work, 1922

Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. In May 1922, the British embassy in Washington contacted the Department of State at the direction of authorities in London. The British ("His Britannic Majesty's Government") wanted to know about the work of women … Continue reading Women in Police Work, 1922