On June 13, 1971, the New York Times began publishing articles based on a “Top Secret” Office of the Secretary of Defense study of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The study had been leaked to that newspaper by Daniel Ellsberg, one of the analysts who worked on the project. The study, entitled … Continue reading The Pentagon Papers: The Department of State Reacts
The National Archives is pleased to announce that more records of the Department of State have been digitized and are now available online through the National Archives Catalog. This is the third in a series of occasional posts. The first post described the microfilm digitization project and the first foreign affairs records made available through … Continue reading Department of State Records Now Available Online: Despatches from Special Agents, Notes to Foreign Missions, and Notes from Foreign Consuls, 1789-1906
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In August 1921, the Department of State sent a circular to all American diplomatic posts asking for answers to a multi-page questionnaire soliciting information to clarify “the needs of the Government in the matter of appropriations … Continue reading A Founder of the United States Foreign Service Writes: Joseph Grew on the Importance of Diplomatic Service, 1921
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The PBS miniseries Atlantic Crossing tells a story of a princess stealing the heart of the president of the United States in a made-for-television drama about the World War II relationship of President Franklin D. Roosevelt … Continue reading Atlantic Crossing: The Christmas Visit
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The National Archives is pleased to announce that additional records of the Department of State have been digitized and are now available online through the National Archives Catalog. An earlier post described the microfilm digitization project … Continue reading More Department of State Records Now Available Online: Consular Despatches, 1783-1906
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Mike Nichols was one of the greats of American stage and screen. Successful as comedian, actor, and director (of stage and screen), he is one of the few to have won the so-called EGOT prize – … Continue reading Mike Nichols: Coming to America, 1939
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The following is an example of the odd requests made to the Department of State. After the Civil War ended in 1865, numerous Confederates fled the United States. They had many reasons to leave – economic … Continue reading Confederate Descendants in Brazil, 1908
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The pre-World War II Department of State is often referred to as a sleepy, slow-moving bureaucracy. This is especially true of the period before the First World War. Even departmental officials made remarks along those lines. … Continue reading To Avoid Embarrassment: Setting Priorities for the Handling of Documents in the Department of State, 1907
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The actor Hal Holbrook, who died in January of 2021, had a long and distinguished career. He appeared on stage and in many motion pictures and television shows. Those of us of a certain age especially … Continue reading Mark Twain Goes Overseas in the 1950s
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
