News Article

Archives Bulletin: July 23-29, 2016

July 29, 2016

Welcome to the weekly Archives Bulletin, where we round-up the news from National Archives locations across the country plus a few pieces of history, and share them with you.

Of the over 14 billion pages of records in the National Archives’ holdings, 95% have been completely described at the series level in the online catalog!

The National Archives teamed up with the Law Library of Congress for a Wikipedia edit-a-thon of proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution! This edit-a-thon was part of the Amending America initiative at the National Archives, which celebrates the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights with an exhibit and a series of National Conversations on Rights and Justice.

Get out your buttons, bumper stickers, hats, and banners! The National Archives wants you to share your presidential campaign memorabilia on social media using #ElectionCollection.

We mourn the loss of Forrest E. Mars, Jr.

The National Archives launched the FOIA Advisory Committee to improve the administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by working with agencies and requesters.

Women cracking the political glass ceiling! In this week of firsts, meet the first women to run for major party nominations in the United States: Margaret Chase Smith and Shirley Chisholm.

Summertime is in full swing! As you head to the beach or pool to cool off in this heatwave, don’t forget your American flag towel from the National Archives Store.

“When I grow up, Mr. Nixon, why should I be a republican?” In 1956, Walt Disney requested an interview with Vice President Richard Nixon on the “Mickey Mouse Club” show, and prompted Nixon to answer this “very challenging question” in “three sentences or less.”

Happy birthday, NASA! 58 years ago this week, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the the National Aeronautics and Space Act, in which “Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the United States that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind” and established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to fulfill this policy.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was born 87 years ago this week. During her time in the White House, she became a international trendsetting style icon of the 1960s.

Alcatraz, a high-security prison off the coast of California, was meant to show the American public that the federal government was serious about fighting the swell in crime that the nation saw in the 1920s and 1930s.