Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In June 1959, the U.S. embassy in London sent a despatch with the subject line “Denigration of the British Royal Family in American Cartoon Magazine.” With it, the embassy’s public affairs officer, F. Bowen Evans, enclosed … Continue reading “A Stupid Insult:” MAD Magazine and the British Royal Family, 1959
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. As the election of 1960 approached, President Dwight Eisenhower made a unique suggestion to Secretary of State Cristian Herter. In a telephone conversation on the afternoon of October 31, General Andrew Goodpaster, Staff Secretary … Continue reading Inviting the World to Watch the Election of 1960
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. April 6, 2017 marks the centennial of United States entry into World War I. As part of its commemoration of that event, the National Archives and Records Administration has digitized and put online three sets of records constituting … Continue reading World War I Foreign Policy Records, Part I: The Department of State
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. In an unusual move, given that the incumbent President remained in office, after winning the election of 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt requested the formal resignation of all chiefs of U.S. diplomatic missions overseas (ambassadors … Continue reading “In the Interest of the Efficiency of the Foreign Service”: Changes in US Diplomatic Representation Abroad after the Election of 1940
Today's post was written by David Langbart, Reference Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. John Kelly, a respected columnist for the Washington Post, recently (June 14, 2016) wrote about Brooks Harding’s “Four Freedoms Flag.” Harding designed the flag to represent the countries fighting against Axis tyranny during World War II, commonly referred to … Continue reading A Flag for the United Nations
By David Langbart Jazz great Dave Brubeck died on December 5, one day short of his 92nd birthday. Since then, there have been many retrospectives – in print, on television, on radio, and on line. Almost all of those remembrances mention the goodwill tour of Poland and the Far East that Brubeck and his quartet … Continue reading Remembering Dave Brubeck
By David Langbart The Great Depression had a serious negative impact on the situation of American diplomatic and consular officials overseas. As the end of the first year of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency drew near, the President sent the following note to Secretary of State Cordell Hull: MEMORANDUM FROM … Continue reading Presidential greetings, c. 1933
