Order in the Court! – Records of Courthouses in the National Register of Historic Places

by John LeGloahec, posted in Electronic Records, Judicial, Presidents

Photograph of Supreme Court Building (National Archives Identifier 594954) There are more than thirty five thousand records with the search term “courthouse” in the National Register of Historic Places records, including both the United States Supreme Court Building (National Archives Identifier 117691883), and the Oklahoma Cherokee Supreme Court Building (National Archives Identifier 86510854). “The Supreme … Continue reading Order in the Court! – Records of Courthouses in the National Register of Historic Places

An Ugly American, 1924

by ncurrie, posted in Air Force, State and Foreign Affairs, Travel and Tourism, World War I

The term “ugly American” was popularized by the 1958 book of the same name by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick.  It referred to certain types of behavior exhibited by some Americans in foreign lands.  These included being self-absorbed, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless, and ignorant of local customs. An early example of such behavior is found in … Continue reading An Ugly American, 1924

Comedian in the Cross-Hairs: The FBI Investigation into Mort Sahl

by ncurrie, posted in Arts & Entertainment, FBI Records, Hollywood and Film

Today's post was written by Gregory Tavormina, Archivist with the Special Access and FOIA Program (RF) at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Newspaper clipping from FBI file 94-HQ-51223-8 ([FBI Headquarters] - 94-HQ-51223 [Classification - Research Matters] [Mort Sahl] (NAID 365107580). It originally appeared in the February 8, 1960 New York Times article “Anyway, … Continue reading Comedian in the Cross-Hairs: The FBI Investigation into Mort Sahl

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part II

by ncurrie, posted in State and Foreign Affairs, Transportation, Travel and Tourism

This is the second in a series of occasional blog posts.    Even as the Department of State’s work on securing approval from Japan for the preliminary work on the Army’s around-the-world flight (see Part I), the Department of State was moving into the second phase of its work on the around-the-world flight: securing approval … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part II

Water, Water, Everywhere – Hydroelectric Power Plants in the National Register

by John LeGloahec, posted in Interior/Environment

Hydroelectric Power is one of the largest sources of renewable energy and is a popular means of providing power, as long as there was a water source and there was the means to construct a plant to harness the water.  There are more that four hundred properties in the records of the National Register (National … Continue reading Water, Water, Everywhere – Hydroelectric Power Plants in the National Register

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Aerial Circumnavigation: Part I

by ncurrie, posted in State and Foreign Affairs, Transportation, Travel and Tourism

This is the first in an occasional series of blog posts. In September 1924, in an aerial trip reminiscent of the voyage of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet (also known as the “Great White Fleet”) around the world between December 1907 and February 1909, a team of U.S. Army airmen completed the first successful aerial circumnavigation … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Aerial Circumnavigation: Part I

Escape and Evasion Reports, World War II

by ncurrie, posted in Digitization Projects, Finding Aids, World War II

Today's post was written by Bob Nowatski, archivist in the Basic Processing and Textual Accessioning unit at the National Archives in College Park, MD. When we think of United States airmen in the European theater during World War II, we may picture rugged veterans who flew numerous missions, or soldiers who were killed in combat … Continue reading Escape and Evasion Reports, World War II

You Load Sixteen Tons and What Do You Get? – Coal Records in the National Register

by John LeGloahec, posted in Interior/Environment

"Mine America's Coal" (National Archives Identifier 515013) Tomorrow, Friday March 16, the exhibit “Power & Light: Russel Lee’s Coal Survey” opens at the National Archives Building in Washington DC.  It features “photographs of coal communities by American documentary photographer Russell Lee. These images tell the story of laborers who helped build the nation, of a … Continue reading You Load Sixteen Tons and What Do You Get? – Coal Records in the National Register