Independence Related Records in the National Register of Historic Places

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

man w/sunglasses on, no shirt, sitting at piano

Isaac Hayes Gets a B-, 1976

The singer and actor Isaac Hayes had a distinctive voice.  When he sang or when he spoke, it was unmistakably him.  Hayes was a singer, songwriter, composer, and actor.  He was a major contributor to the “Memphis Sound” of the 1960s and 1970s.  Hayes is perhaps best known for writing and performing the theme song … Continue reading Isaac Hayes Gets a B-, 1976

Leslie Feinberg: The FBI and Gender Pronouns

Today's post is by Dr. Amanda Weimer, Supervisory Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In 2022, the National Archives’ Special Access and FOIA Program completed a review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigative case file 100-HQ-480756 on Leslie Dianne Feinberg (September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014). Feinberg used the … Continue reading Leslie Feinberg: The FBI and Gender Pronouns

She’s a Grand Old Flag! Records About Flag Day, the American Flag in the National Register of Historic Places

To celebrate Flag Day, Cartoonist Clifford Berryman has Uncle Sam both singing and conducting "The Star Spangled Banner" while an enormous American flag waves in the background. (National Archives Identifier 6011566) June 14 is known as Flag Day, which commemorates the date on which the American flag was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777.  … Continue reading She’s a Grand Old Flag! Records About Flag Day, the American Flag in the National Register of Historic Places

Memorializing James Longstreet, 1941

In 1941, Helen Dortch Longstreet, widow of Confederate general James Longstreet, and the the Longstreet Memorial Association were planning for the placement of a memorial to the general on the Gettysburg battlefield.  That organization had been “organized on the Gettysburg field by the Veterans of Longstreet’s command during the seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the battle” … Continue reading Memorializing James Longstreet, 1941

Insight into the Unabomber Case from the Files of its Lead Prosecutor

Today's post was written by Megan Dwyre, Supervisory Archivist, Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives in College Park, MD This blog post highlights records related to the Unabomber case from the series Electronic Records of Robert J. Cleary, 1999-2002, which was made available through the joint efforts of the Special Access and … Continue reading Insight into the Unabomber Case from the Files of its Lead Prosecutor

Public Outcry, a Broken Treaty, and the Controversial Construction of the Kinzua Dam

Today’s post was written by Grace Schultz, archivist at the National Archives at Philadelphia.  On September 16, 1966, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) drowned over 10,000 acres of Seneca land in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York. The 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, signed by George Washington as well as Native and federal delegates, … Continue reading Public Outcry, a Broken Treaty, and the Controversial Construction of the Kinzua Dam

Onoda of the Jungle

At the end of World War II, some Japanese soldiers retreated into the jungle and continued to “fight,” not believing the call for surrender by the Emperor.  One of the most famous and longest of those fighters was Hiroo Onoda. Hiroo Onoda, c.1944 (courtesy wikimedia) Onoda, a Japanese army lieutenant, was sent to Lubang Island … Continue reading Onoda of the Jungle

Service photograph of John Rice

Where to Lay an American Hero? The Burial Controversy of John Rice (Ho-Chunk)

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records. Author’s note: I would like to extend a special thanks to those colleagues who went above and beyond to help with this post; Tammy Williams, Archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library; Rose Buchanan, Archivist and Subject … Continue reading Where to Lay an American Hero? The Burial Controversy of John Rice (Ho-Chunk)

A Snapshot of Poor Records Storage at the Albuquerque Indian School

Today’s post is written by Cody White, Archivist and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records On September 29, 1936, Carmen Gurnoe of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, wrote the Albuquerque Indian School in New Mexico. Her request was simple, and one that Native elders still make today—she needed proof of her birth date, in … Continue reading A Snapshot of Poor Records Storage at the Albuquerque Indian School