Prologue: Pieces of History

In the U.S. Army of 2010, the regulations state that mustaches are limited to men, and the length and shape of the mustache itself is severely limited: “Mustaches are permitted; if worn, males will keep mustaches neatly trimmed, tapered, and tidy. Mustaches will not present a chopped off or bushy appearance, and no portion of [...]

Whenever a member of the Supreme Court announces retirement, and another citizen is nominated to replace one of the most important seats in government, the National Archives gets busy. The nomination of Elena Kagan is no exception. The Clinton Presidential Library has over 160,000 pages of Kagan’s documents to sort through and provide to the [...]

George Herman “Babe” Ruth was no exception to the military draft that took place during World War I, but as fate would have it, the Great Bambino’s number was never called. Still, “Babe” Ruth managed to serve his country. Eighty-six years ago this month, the Sultan of Swat traded out his swing for a salute [...]

If Kagan’s nomination is accepted, she will be the fourth woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Her nomination was made possible by the trail blazed—with tremendous determination—by Lockwood. Lockwood was the daughter of farmers, a widowed mother, and a wife who financially supported her ailing husband. She attended college after the death of [...]

The Civil War was a fine time for facial hair (and I would assume now is still a fine time for the facial hair of historic reenactors). On Fridays, we’ll be posting images of the finest, most dapper facial hair the National Archives has in its holdings, from the Civil War to Gilded Age Presidents. [...]