Poster Appreciate America Do Your Share

“Fake News” 1942: President Roosevelt and the Chicago Tribune

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park During the first months of 1942, two individuals in the Office of Facts and Figures, within the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President, drew up lists of newspapers critical of the Roosevelt Administration.[1] … Continue reading “Fake News” 1942: President Roosevelt and the Chicago Tribune

Myrna Loy, Her World Beyond Hollywood, Part I 1905-1949

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park Myrna Loy was an American actress whose 129 movie career made her a household name for decades.  A New York Times reporter wrote in November 1987, that “During the many years Myrna Loy reigned as one of America’s … Continue reading Myrna Loy, Her World Beyond Hollywood, Part I 1905-1949

Japanese American Evacuee Property Letters

Today’s post is written by Jana Leighton, an Archivist in the Electronic Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. On February 19, 1942, two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 that allowed the Secretary of War to designate military areas and order evacuation of … Continue reading Japanese American Evacuee Property Letters

“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, 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

Major League Baseball, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and World War II, 1941-1942

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor, Archivists at the National Archives at College Park. During the summer of 1940, as German military forces overran France, many Americans began to support the need for compulsory military training in the event that the United States entered the war in Europe. In … Continue reading Major League Baseball, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and World War II, 1941-1942

A President Complies with Federal Regulations: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Form TFR-500

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor, archivists at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Midway through World War II it became apparent that the United States Government had increasing need for comprehensive financial information on American property interests in foreign countries, particularly enemy and enemy-dominated nations. This need … Continue reading A President Complies with Federal Regulations: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Form TFR-500

On the Road Again: Presidential Visits to the West, Part II

Today's post was written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver. This is part two in a three part series. Read Part I. In 1930 Secretary of Interior Ray Lyman Wilber visited southern Nevada to inaugurate the construction of a long planned dam on the Colorado River. Known until then as Boulder … Continue reading On the Road Again: Presidential Visits to the West, Part II

Joe and Dave’s Excellent Adventure!

Today’s post was written by David Pfeiffer, Reference Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. On a gorgeous late summer day in August, RDT2 archivists Joe Schwarz and David Pfeiffer traveled to Shenandoah National Park headquarters near Luray, Virginia, to examine some potentially alienated records at the request of NARA’s Office of the Inspector General … Continue reading Joe and Dave’s Excellent Adventure!

Efforts by Ernst Posner and the National Archives to Protect European Archives during World War II

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. The National Archives began to think, after the invasion of North Africa in World War II, of the practical importance of records in connection with the government of conquered territory.  Archivist of the United States Solon J. Buck and senior National Archives official Oliver W. Holmes took … Continue reading Efforts by Ernst Posner and the National Archives to Protect European Archives during World War II

The U.S. Secret Service: It Took 42 Years to Protect the President

Today's post (part one in a two-part series) is by National Archives Volunteer Bill Nigh. When I was assigned my first volunteer project, one associated with the U.S. Secret Service (Record Group 87), I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Like many my age, I picture the Secret Service agent climbing on the rear deck of … Continue reading The U.S. Secret Service: It Took 42 Years to Protect the President