In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 71 years ago today, agencies of the U.S. government swung into action.  The Army and Navy immediately went on a war footing as did American diplomats in the Department of State and at embassies and consulates around the world.  Since the formal outbreak of war [...]

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. The National Archives holds a substantial quantity Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records. And in the forthcoming years even more records will be accessioned.  The FBI case files contain  a variety of documentation, including FBI agent reports; teletype-messages; prosecutive summaries; accounts of interviews and physical surveillance; letters; memorandums; [...]

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. On May 10, 1966 J. Edgar Hoover, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wrote Alex Rosen, head of the Bureau’s General Investigation Division, thanking him for a gift certificate to a Washington, D.C. nursery.  The gift was in honor of Hoover’s anniversary as director.  “I shall derive [...]

Today’s post is written by Dawn Sherman-Fells, a processing archivist who works with civilian textual records. Are you one of the many who believe that FOIA is truly a “four letter word”?  Understanding the Freedom of Information Act can be daunting, frustrating – intimidating, even.  Here I will share a few tips that will hopefully facilitate a better understanding [...]

Yesterday, I posted about Department of Justice press releases.  Today, I’d like to share a few of my favorites!  One early press release, dated November 6, 1933, details the establishment of a federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, which according to the release, “is a necessary part of the Government’s campaign against predatory crime.”  Three years [...]