Prologue: Pieces of History

Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. By the end of August, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were tired. They had been convening and debating for [...]

Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. Have you ever dreamed of being addressed as King or Queen or Prince or Princess or Viscount or Duchess or [...]

  Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution. Don’t miss our special programs, events, and social media outreach this September in honor of the 225th anniversary of the Constitution. By July 23, 1787, the Constitutional Convention had been meeting for [...]

Some time ago, a Facebook fan expressed thanks that we would never combine our First Ladies Friday with our Facial Hair Friday. To which we replied, never say never! Of course, the facial hair in this photograph is not on First Lady Pat Nixon, but that scraggly surfer goatee is in very close proximity to [...]

Rick Blondo, management and program analyst at the National Archives, reflects on the logistics of maintaining records in the sweltering humidity that is summer in Washington, DC. Summer in Washington can be a wilting experience for tourists and locals alike, but not so for the holdings maintained in the National Archives. The National Archives was [...]