60 years ago today:
On December 13, 1952, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were transferred to the National Archives. Joining the Bill of Rights, which had been in the Archives’ care since 1938, they became collectively known as the Charters of Freedom, the most precious documents in our heritage.
more via Prologue: A Homecoming for Six Pages of Parchment
It’s Constitution Day!
September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Learn more about the U.S. Constitution through programs, and resources from the National Archives:
Have you ever been to the usnatarchives to see the Constitution in person? Share your memories of visiting the National Archives below!
What do you remember from your visit to see the Constitution? How old were you? How did you feel?
Opening day of baseball is upon us, and believe it or not, the National Archives is full of records related to America’s favorite pastime.
For instance, within the Records of the United States Senate at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC, there is a large collection of original Clifford K. Berryman cartoons, including cartoons related to baseball.
Berryman, a political cartoonist for the Washington Post (1891–1907), then the Washington Evening Star (1907–1949), lived his entire adult live in Washington, DC.
He was an avid sports fan and loved to draw baseball—especially his hometown baseball team, the Washington Senators (or Nationals depending on the year).
Read more of the saga of the Senators as told through Berryman’s cartoons at: Play Ball! | Pieces of History
Visit the Online Catalog to see all of Berryman’s baseball cartoons, and check out the National Archive website to see more records relating to the game. Now go Play Ball!
Happy Constitution Day! The Constitution is 226 years old, and is the oldest written constitution still in use today. It is on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, DC. You can see a high-res image and read a transcript of the Constitution here: http://go.usa.gov/D5VR
Top Five Facts about the Constitution!
Five: The Constitution has 4,543 words, including the signatures. It takes about 30 minutes to read.
Four: Two of the first 12 amendments submitted were rejected; the remaining ten became the Bill of Rights.
Three: The Chief Justice is mentioned in the Constitution, but the number of Justices is not specified.
Two: Only one amendment to the Constitution has been repealed: the 18th (Prohibition).
One: The Constitution does not give us our rights and liberties, but it does guarantee them.
For more Constitution myth busting, read today’s blog post: http://go.usa.gov/D5kJ
Anyone making a DC trip soon? The National Archives should definitely be a stop on your visit!
The massive bronze doors of the National Archives first opened 80 years ago on October 18, 1935.
If you have ever visited the National Archives in Washington, DC, you may have noticed two very, very large bronze doors that mark the original Constitution Avenue entrance to the building.
These bronze doors stand about 37 feet, 7 inches high and are 10 feet wide and 11 inches thick. Each weighs roughly 6.5 tons. The building’s architect, John Russell Pope, understanding the national significance of the structure, sought to design a public exhibition hall of monumental proportions. As a reminder to visitors of the importance of the building’s purpose, the public exhibition hall Pope designed—the rotunda—measures 75 feet high; the bronze doors leading into the exhibition hall match that in size and character.
The doors were first opened on October 18, 1935. Then visitors to the National Archives climbed up 39 steps on Constitution Avenue and walked past two rows of giant Corinthian columns before passing through the large, motorized doors.
For 65 years, visitors walked through these stunning doors to visit National Archives exhibits. When the Archives reopened in 2003 following a two-year renovation, the bronze doors remained closed. Visitors now enter on the sidewalk level of Constitution Avenue. While the bronze doors are now opened only on special occasions, they remain a notable feature of the building and continue to remind visitors of the significance of the National Archives and its work.
More via Prologue: Pieces of History » Doors of Monumental Proportions
Interested in more Archives Architecture? Check out the @usnatarchives‘ recent #ArchivesInstameet on Instagram when 28 Instagrammers came by for coffee, donuts, architecture, history, and photography at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. See the Storify from their visit: https://storify.com/USNatArchives/archivesinstameet-at-the-national-archives
Independence Day in the United States is celebrated on July 4, the day the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. If you ask just about any American, they can correctly identify that date. What is less commonly known, however, is that it is unlikely that the Declaration itself was signed on July 4. In fact, it is probable that the majority of the delegates to Congress didn’t sign the document for nearly a month after ratification.
Today, a majority of U.S. historians agree that the document was in fact signed on August 2, 1776. This date was initially a matter of dispute. In the years after independence, reports from a variety of Founding Fathers asserted that the document was signed on the same day as it was adopted. According to the notes taken by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and others, the Declaration was signed on July 4, 1776.
However, in the decades that followed, more facts came to light that called this date into question. Some delegates, such as Thomas McKean in 1796, disputed the idea that the signing had taken place on July 4, as many of the signers of the document weren’t even in Philadelphia until later in that month.
Keep reading at Making it Official: The Day the Declaration of Independence was Signed | Prologue: Pieces of History
“Where are the aliens?”
“Did Nicholas Cage ever return the Declaration of Independence?”
“What’s the worst amendment ever proposed?”
These are just a few of the questions recently put to @usnatarchivesexhibits curators during our inaugural “Answer Time” Q&A session here on Tumblr.
On May 17, Tumblr users were invited to the National Archives Exhibits Tumblr to ask co-curators Christine Blackerby and Jennifer Johnson questions about the new “Amending America” exhibition.
Answer Time was a great opportunity to engage with audiences about the mission and work of the National Archives. During the event, Christine and Jennifer fielded a variety of questions, ranging from classic interests like exhibit design and the inner workings of the @usnatarchives to the more niche topics of ‘craziest failed amendments’ and favorite sandwiches.
Go behind the scenes and see how Archives staff covered some of the over 1,100 questions on aliens, comic books, and amendments:
NARA’s Inaugural Tumblr Answer Time with Amending America Curators | NARAtions
Danielle Sklarew | intern in the National Archives History Office
Four.
Roughly 3.5%.
That is how many women have served on the United States Supreme Court since its inception in 1789, when John Jay was chosen as the first Chief Justice of the United States. It took until 1981, 192 years, for the first woman, Sandra Day O’Connor, to be sworn in and begin her 24-year-long career as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
President Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor after making a campaign promise to have a woman on the nation’s highest court. Within his first year of his Presidency, he got the opportunity when Justice Potter Stewart’s retirement opened a spot on the high court. The Senate, tasked with approving nominations, unanimously confirmed O’Connor, and she soon began serving on the Supreme Court.
O’Connor’s influence on the court was immense, as she often acted as a swing vote on key decisions. Some of the notable cases that O’Connor worked on include Bush v. Gore (2000), which confirmed George W. Bush as President, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), which helped uphold the Roe v. Wade (1973) decision that legalized abortion. And she was the deciding vote on a number of anti-discrimination and civil rights–related cases.
Her time on the court also showcased her resilience, as she fought breast cancer. After being diagnosed, there was speculation that she would retire from the court, but O’Connor continued her service. Even though she needed surgery and received chemotherapy, she did not miss any oral arguments and continued her duties.
Read the entire post on the Pieces of History blog.
On April 12, 1965, a small group of people gathered at the triangular plot on Pennsylvania Avenue near the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.
The family and close friends of President Franklin D. Roosevelt had assembled to dedicate a memorial to the late President on the 20th anniversary of his death.
The memorial is very much unlike the current FDR Memorial on the tidal basin. It is a small and simple block of marble made from the same quarry as the FDR’s gravestone at Hyde Park, NY. The memorial was paid for by private donations that were not made public (although their names are sealed into the base of the stone).
The modest design was intentional—on September 26, 1941, Roosevelt had told his friend Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter:
“If any memorial is erected to me, I know exactly what I should like it to be. I should like it to consist of a block about the size of this (putting his hand on his desk) and placed in the center of that green plot in front of the Archives Building. I don’t care what it is made of, whether limestone or granite or whatnot, but I want it plain without any ornamentation, with the simple carving, ‘In Memory of ____’.”
Today you can still visit this original FDR Memorial by stopping by the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th Street, NW, next to the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum #OTD #FDR #memorial
Images of the March on Washington
Fifty years ago on August 28, 1963, a high point in the long pursuit of African American civil rights took place when hundreds of thousands of civil rights supporters came to Washington, DC for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The National Archives has extensive holdings from the March on Washington, including nearly 100 photos online from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. If you look closely, you can find images of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other prominent civil rights leaders, professional athletes and celebrities, marchers, and even a 12 year old girl celebrating her birthday.
But which is your favorite? Suggest a photo from our holdings and we’ll share it here this week!
What’s your favorite image from the March on Washington?
On this date in 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the #ADA into law — making it easier for older Americans and others with #disabilities to get around at home, participate in their communities, and go to work. #ADA31
