David S. Ferriero's Blog, page 12

Remembering “Remembering Vietnam”

Our exhibit commemorating the Vietnam War closed last week after a 15-month run in our Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery. We used the records in our holdings as well as interviews with historians, American and Vietnamese military and civilians to describe twelve critical episodes in the Vietnam War from Truman Sides with France (1946-53) to the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

[image error]Remembering Vietnam exhibit. Photo by National Archives photographer Jeff Reed.

The title of the exhibit comes from an important book by the Vietnamese-American writer, Viet Thanh Nguyen—Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War—in which he reminds us that wars are fought twice, once on the battlefield and once in memory.

That message was clearly reinforced in 15 months of programming supporting the exhibit, thousands of tourists visiting the exhibit, Wounded Warrior visits, Honor Flight participants, school groups, family groups, Vietnam Veterans and their
families.

In the Gallery, we provided an opportunity for visitors to reflect on what they had seen and heard and leave us their thoughts:

“We are a family of Vietnamese refugees, here because of the war.”

“My dad lost his leg and got mean after the war.”

“When I was a young girl, I remember my mother baking
cookies, packing them and sending them to my uncle in Vietnam.”

“My dad died of Agent Orange.”

“My father served from 69-70.  My whole childhood and his entire adult life
was marked by personal, emotional and medical trauma from his service.  Let us never repeat that.”

“My grandpa is MIA from the Vietnam War and it
harshly affected my grandmother.”

“My mom, along with her 3 siblings and her
parents, fled Vietnam 2 days before the Fall of Saigon.”

As a Vietnam Vet, this was an important 15 months to me personally. I often wandered into the exhibit to see who was there, how they were interacting and reacting to the materials we had chosen, and listened in to the hushed conversations—parents explaining to their children, Vietnam Vets comparing notes, lots of tears on every visit. 

We were lucky to have the North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association with us twice—with three choppers from the war sited on our Constitution Avenue lawn.  They drew the curious and the informed. They shared their stories and reminded those of us who returned how lucky we were.

[image error]Members of the North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association talk to visitors on the Constitution Avenue lawn of the National Archives. Photo by Jeff Reed.

I am forever grateful to our exhibit curator, Alice Kamps, and a dedicated and creative exhibits and programming staff for executing such a quality experience and commemoration. And to our National Archives Foundation for their financial and spiritual support!

Early on the morning after the exhibit closed and just before deinstallation began, I had my last walk through. It was a powerfully emotional experience, as it was during my first walk through before the exhibit opened. Proud of what we accomplished!

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote

Today’s post comes from Debra
Steidel Wall, Deputy Archivist of the United States.

Almost 100 years ago, the United States House and Senate passed the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
A little over a year later the 36th
state – Tennessee – ratified it, and the new amendment prohibiting the
states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of
the United States on the basis of sex became law.

[image error]Photograph of Suffrage Parade, 1913. National Archives Identifier 593561

Here at the National Archives we are making plans to commemorate this important anniversary.

The cornerstone of our celebration is a new exhibit, Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote. It will run in our Lawrence O’Brien Gallery at our building in Washington, DC, from May 10, 2019, through January 3, 2021. The exhibit commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment by looking beyond suffrage parades and protests to the often-overlooked story behind the landmark moment in American history. This fuller retelling of the struggle for women’s voting rights uses our records to
illustrate the dynamic involvement of American women across the spectrum of race, ethnicity, and class to reveal what it really took to win the vote for one half of the people.

This exhibit will be complemented by a traveling exhibit called One Half of the People: Advancing Equality for Women; pop-up exhibits for schools and other venues; a range of public programs and education programs; an active social media campaign; and robust digital engagement activities on our web sites and other platforms.

We’ve put together a group of staff from around the country to coordinate NARA’s activities relating to the commemoration. One of the things we will explore is how to
acknowledge the complicated and painful reality of a suffrage movement that abandoned women of color.

In addition, I’m proud to represent the National Archives as a member of the Congressional Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.  The commission was established by Congress in 2017 “to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for women’s suffrage.” The Commission recently held a public meeting at the National Archives in Washington, and is working on exciting ideas for the
commemoration.

[image error]Women Marching in Suffragette Parade, Washington, DC. National Archives Identifier 24520426

One of the special things about working in an archives is the opportunity to see original records in the course of your work. Recently, I had the chance to view the original 19th Amendment. I reflected on how this unassuming-looking document, many messy decades in the making, empowered millions of women to step closer to equality in all aspects of American life, and, how, the records we hold at the National Archives reflect that journey.

NARA and Obama Foundation Sign a Digitization Memorandum of Understanding

This week, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Barack Obama Foundation agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the plan to digitize all of the unclassified textual Presidential records of the Obama administration. The Foundation will select the vendor, with NARA approval, and oversee the contract.

[image error] President Barack Obama Works at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, 10/11/2013. National Archives Identifier 118818001

The digitization plan was first outlined in May 2017, and this MOU is the first agreement coming out of the Letter of Intent signed in September 2018.

Approximately 30 million pages of unclassified Presidential records at the Obama Library will be scanned, and the scanned images and associated metadata will become part of the Electronic Records Archives.

Because the records are governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA), the archival staff of the Obama Library will review the material before their release. The records will then be made digitally available to the public through the National Archives Catalog and the Obama Library website.

Archivist David S. Ferriero said, “Last
September we signed a Letter of Intent with the Obama Foundation and, as
promised, have continued to work toward an agreement for the digitization of
the unclassified textual records of the Barack Obama administration. I am
pleased with the progress that this MOU represents and look forward to further
progress as NARA and the Obama Foundation partner on this exciting new model.”

For information about the records of
the Obama administration, visit www.obamalibrary.gov.

Remembering President George Herbert Walker Bush

Late Friday, November 30, 2018, our nation lost its 41st President, George Herbert Walker Bush. We join our National Archives colleagues at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, in mourning the President and honoring his legacy.

In tribute, the staff posted this statement on www.bush41.org/:

President Bush was intimately involved in the Presidential Library and local community, from attending exhibit openings and forums, to frequently being seen in the museum and surrounding grounds. So many people here have been touched by his life and knowing him personally. Through his Presidential Library and Museum, we will continue to honor his life and legacy with our utmost reverence.

A memorial website with the President’s official obituary and funeral information can be found at www.georgehwbush.com.

In his Presidential Proclamation issued on December 1, 2018, President Trump has announced December 5, 2018, as a National Day of Mourning throughout the United States. “I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President H.W. Bush. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”

Together, we remember President Bush and honor his legacy. A patriot, a statesman, a leader who worked ceaselessly for a kinder, gentler America, President Bush promoted the values of democracy that we uphold every day through our work. Please join me in remembering his service to our Nation.

“Remembering Vietnam” this Veterans Day

November 11 marks the annual observance of Veterans Day, a day on which we honor the courageous men and women who have served in the United States military. This year, the National Archives will host a week-long commemoration to honor and pay tribute to Vietnam War veterans.

[image error]Helicopter on the lawn of the National Archives for the opening weekend of the Remembering Vietnam, November 2017. National Archives photo By Jeff Reed

Vietnam-era helicopters will once again be on display on the front lawn of the National Archives from November 9-16, as part of the week-long Veterans Day commemoration.

While visiting the National Archives, be sure to see our current exhibition: “Remembering Vietnam.” The exhibit examines 12 critical episodes in the Vietnam War to provide a framework for understanding the decisions that led to war, events and consequences of the war, and its legacy. The exhibit is free and open to the public, and will be on display in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Museum through January 6, 2019.

[image error] Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division stand guard over a Landing Zone waiting for the second wave of assault helicopters to land, 7/6/1966. National Archives Identifier 100310308

On Wednesday, November 14, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., join us for a program on support and resources for Vietnam veterans: “Remembering Veterans: A conversation of what happens after Duty, Honor, Country.”

Former Senator and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will deliver remarks, and the program will include a panel discussion with expert panelists including Rick Weidman, Vietnam veteran and Executive Director for Policy and Government Affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). The program will be held at the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Learn more and register now. If you are unable to join us in person, you can watch the program live on the National Archives YouTube channel.

Visit archives.gov/vietnam for more information on education resources, to request military records, explore the Vietnam War timeline, and discover more resources.

Join us in the Innovation Hub on Tuesday, November 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., as we host The American Soldier in World War II transcribe-a-thon to make accessible an unusual collection of wartime documents — 65,000 pages of uncensored, handwritten reflections written by U.S. soldiers during World War II.

[image error]

This event is part of a 72-hour collaborative transcribe-a-thon between Virginia Tech, the National Archives, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Social Science Research Council.

It is possible for classes, groups, communities, or individuals to participate both online and remotely. For more information and to register yourself or group, please visit the event web page.

Each year, we acknowledge the work done and sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform. The National Archives and Records Administration is proud to serve veterans and their families, especially through our work at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. We are also proud to include many veterans among our staff. Find out how we help veterans access their records to receive benefits, read about the work our Preservation staff do to make these records accessible, watch historic films that our staff have restored and digitized about the experiences of veterans, and plan a visit to an exhibit or event near you.

Honoring First Lady Laura Bush

Last night the National Archives Foundation presented our Records of Achievement Award to former First Lady Laura Bush.  The award is an annual tribute recognizing individuals who have made a significant impact upon the public’s understanding of the United States and its history.  The accomplishments of the awardees reflects the Foundation’s mission by highlighting stories found in the billions of documents, photographs, maps, films, and recordings in the National Archives to bring a fuller understanding of our national experience.

[image error]Laura Bush receives National Archives Foundation 2018 Records of Achievement Award
L to R: National Archives Executive Director Patrick Madden, Archivist of the United States David Ferriero, former First Lady Laura Bush, Journalist and author Cokie Roberts, National Archives Foundation Chairman Jim Blanchard. Photo courtesy of the National Archives Foundation.

My remarks from last night’s ceremony:

I’m delighted to recognize a fellow librarian! And you may be surprised to learn how much we have in common: we studied for our Masters in Library Science at the same time, relocated to Washington for Executive branch positions on Pennsylvania Avenue, and both proudly champion our nation’s history.

But in all seriousness, First Lady Laura Bush’s unwavering support of civic literacy, her passion for education, and her unyielding commitment to the empowerment of women make her both an obvious choice for this award, and for the launch our women’s vote centennial celebration.

Laura Bush has been an educator, a librarian, the First Lady of Texas, the First Lady of the United States, and a global advocate through the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The common thread linking her life’s work together is this intrinsic love of learning that she continues to share with the world.

Laura Bush’s educational work through the Bush Center in programs such as Middle School Matters, the School Leadership Initiative, Advancing Accountability in Education, and of course, my favorite––your Foundation for America’s Libraries––all demonstrate a commitment and passion for ensuring a literate society. This mission was what President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind when he created the National Archives, a mission which continues to be vital to our democracy.

Laura Bush said “We must prepare our children and grandchildren with the tools they need to be informed, engaged citizens who care about individual liberty and democracy. We must teach them history. We must insist they understand the government they are blessed to live under. We must teach our children to listen, to show empathy, to show civility in the face of disagreement, and to overcome malice and hate. And we must model the behavior ourselves.”

At the National Archives, we work to provide students of all ages with the tools they need to understand history and become active participants in our government. We recently launched a civic education webpage to make our education initiatives accessible to parents, teachers, and students. DocsTeach, our online tool for teaching with documents, features more than 10,500 primary source documents and interactive activities for teachers and students. We make history fun with sleepovers in the Rotunda upstairs with themes such as space exploration and Native Americans. And we host a wide variety of educational programs across the country throughout the year.

We would not be here tonight if it wasn’t for our partner, the National Archives Foundation, helping the National Archives reach an ever-larger and more diverse audience. Together, we make civic literacy a reality. With the support of the Foundation and generous benefactors like you, we celebrated our annual 4th of July Reading of the Declaration on the steps of this building. We hosted two widely popular National Archives sleepovers. And we will launch our next exhibit “Rightfully Hers” this March on the 19th Amendment and women’s right to vote in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery.

Tonight, we celebrate this shared vision between Laura Bush and the National Archives family. Through the work of the former First Lady, the National Archives, and the National Archives Foundation, we’re striving for a nation in which all children have the same love of learning that drove Laura Bush to pursue her dreams and make the world a better place.

Thank you for joining us this evening as we celebrate our public-private partnership with the Foundation and pay tribute to Laura Bush.

Celebrating American Archives Month

Standing midway between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, the National Archives building at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue is as impressive today as when it opened in 1935. Surrounded by seventy-two Corinthian columns, each over 50 feet high, it is among the most popular photo backdrops for tourists.

[image error]Photograph of the southeast corner of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Photo by Jeff Reed

As we celebrate Archives month, however, I thought it appropriate to draw some attention to the words inscribed in large letters on the east side of the building:

THIS BUILDING HOLDS IN TRUST THE RECORDS OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE AND SYMBOLIZES OUR FAITH IN THE PERMANENCY OF OUR NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

It is important that we never lose sight of the trusted role that nonpartisan government archivists – at the federal, state and local level – play in ensuring the permanence of our democratic institutions.

Since 2006, the American archival community, including the Society of American Archivists (SAA), the Council of State Archivists (COSA), and hundreds of individual repositories, has celebrated American Archives Month every October.

At NARA, we use this month to publicize our agency mission and priceless records and to raise awareness of the value of archives and archivists. We take this opportunity to celebrate the breadth of our holdings and locations and to connect American citizens with the records that document our democracy in action. Today the National Archives cares for 15 billion sheets of paper, 43 million photographs, miles and miles of video and film, and billions of electronic records. Like many of our archival colleagues at state and local levels, we face similar challenges of increasing volumes of electronic records—the fastest growing record form, while also undergoing budget and staffing constraints. We each have an indispensable role as the caretakers of the past and preservers of the future.

American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by archives at all levels to highlight the importance of historical materials of enduring value, and efforts to preserve and provide public access to them. To that end, I am proud of the leadership of our National Historical Publications and Records Commission who continue to support innovative research and discovery through our grants program. This program enables enhanced access to research content around the nation, funding projects and supporting initiatives to preserve and make archival collections more accessible to the public, support research and development, and improve access to state and local records.

[image error] Photograph of Food Administration Records Temporarily Being Stored in Tiers 16-18 in the National Archives Building, 8/17/1937. National Archives Identifier 12168492

The National Archives strives to be a trusted independent agency, providing access to the archival record of the United States on an equal basis to everyone according to the rules laid out primarily in the Presidential Records Act, the Federal Records Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. In fact, the law that established NARA as an independent agency in 1985 states that “The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist.”

NARA’s position is not unique. Every state has a State Archivist, and many towns and cities have municipal archivists. The importance of independent archives at all levels of government is critical to the trust of the country in its history, and the ability of the archives to provide reliable trustworthy evidence of the actions of the past. Every government archivist must be allowed to do his or her job free of political pressure so that the archival record can speak freely, and so the archives can continue to function as the trusted repository of the actions of government.

As we celebrate and recognize the important role of all levels of archives in our democracy, I invite you to participate in our American Archives Month celebration. See our Twitter #AskAnArchivist chats, read our blog posts, and celebrate our agency’s invaluable holdings and the innumerable ways we connect the American public with their stories.

I am very proud of the work of our staff at the National Archives every day. I will continue to defend the principle of nonpartisan government archives, independent and therefore trusted, so that archives can continue to be the trusted brokers of history as they are today. I wish you a fulfilling, uplifting, educational, and productive American Archives Month.

We the People of the United States…

Constitution Day and Citizenship day, celebrated every year on September 17, marks the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution, which defines the U.S. Government and outlines the fundamental rights of all citizens. As the guardians of the nation’s Charters of Freedom, including the Constitution, we serve a key role in this yearly celebration.

Thirty-one new United States naturalized citizens took the oath of allegiance on Constitution Day on Monday at the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, DC. Sworn in just steps away from the Charters of Freedom—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—the new Americans hail from 25 different countries: Australia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Spain, Togo, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

[image error]Thirty-one naturalized U.S. citizens take the oath of allegiance at the Naturalization Ceremony held at the National Archives’ Rotunda in Washington, DC, on Constitution Day, September 17, 2018. (National Archives photo by Jeff Reed)

Guest speaker the Honorable Caroline Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, expressed her gratitude at being able to share the “special day” with the new citizens. Kennedy said, “Every time I enter this Rotunda, I am overwhelmed with the privilege and the responsibility that comes with being an American.”

[image error]The Honorable Caroline Kennedy provided the keynote address at the Naturalization Ceremony held at the National Archives on Constitution Day, September 17, 2018. Nii Armah Dagadu, originally from Ghana, was sworn in as a new American citizen at the event. (National Archives photo by Jeff Reed)

“America is the only country founded on an ideal,” Kennedy added. “We have no king, no official church or language—we are bound to each other by our shared commitment to the ideals and values of freedom, equality, opportunity, tolerance, diversity, and the rule of law. The fact that ours is the oldest written constitution still in use is a testament to the enduring power of those ideas, and to the skill with which the Founders framed them.”

The first and signature pages of the Constitution have been on display since the entire document came here from the Library of Congress in 1952. In 1970, for the first time ever, we displayed all four pages of the original document during Constitution Week. Doing so was the idea of Assistant Archivist for Educational Programs Frank Burke after having a conversation with a visitor inquiring why all pages were not on public view. Since 2003 all four pages of the document have been on display for more than a million visitors each year.

I encourage you to visit the National Archives News page on Constitution Day, where you can find events and resources about the Constitution, read a transcript of the Constitution or watch a number of related videos. Let us reflect on our privilege as public servants and as Americans. Take a few moments to read the Constitution as citizens united by its enduring value to our nation. We hold in trust the records that tell our nation’s story.

National Archives Works to Release Records Related to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh

The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is to provide access to the permanent records of the Federal government, which include Presidential records from NARA’s Presidential Libraries.

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018. NARA has permanent records related to Judge Kavanaugh, because he served in the White House Counsel’s Office and the White House Office of the Staff Secretary under the Administration of President George W. Bush, and he also served as an Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr during the Administration of President William J. Clinton.

Each time a candidate is nominated to the Supreme Court by the President, the staff at the National Archives and Records Administration immediately begin the task of reviewing and releasing records related to that nominee. The process is governed by several laws, including the Presidential Records Act, the Federal Records Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. All of the records, electronic and paper, must be reviewed by archival staff before being released by NARA.

In addition to the challenges of reviewing the records, the archival staff face an enormous number of documents—in Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s case, far more than previous nominees.  While National Archives processed and released roughly 70,000 pages on Chief Justice John Roberts and 170,000 pages on Justice Elena Kagan, there are the equivalent of several million pages of paper and email records related to Judge Kavanaugh in the holdings of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and in the National Archives.

This is a challenging task that National Archives staff are currently working to meet. These are not open records under the Presidential Records Act, and the way we’re reviewing and releasing them is governed by the processes specified in the law, including that we must give first priority to records requested by a chairman of a congressional committee. Some records might be withheld or released in redacted form for various reasons: to preserve the secrecy of grand jury proceedings; to protect the personal privacy of living individuals; to protect the identities of confidential sources; and to protect confidential communications within the White House.  The PRA representative of former President George W. Bush, who has an independent right of access to Presidential records of his administration, is also engaged in a separate process to review and provide records to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In our efforts towards transparency, we have created a new webpage summarizing the Judge Kavanaugh records. Presidential records are being reviewed by NARA archivists and will be released on NARA’s George W. Bush Presidential Library’s website, along with previously released records. NARA has released the records from the Office of Independent Counsel Starr on the National Archives website. Additionally, correspondence between NARA and the Senate Judiciary Committee related to the overall process can be found in NARA’s FOIA Electronic Reading Room. I encourage anyone with a deep interest in how this process works to read these exchanges for the latest and most accurate information.

I remain deeply committed to the efforts of archives in providing transparency as our best hope in combating low public trust in government. Transparency also supports active public engagement with government, and NARA is seeing high levels of engagement and interest in what we do. After all, archives and open government records are one of the pillars of democracy. When I became Archivist of the United States, I took an Oath of Office just as every Federal employee. I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Rule of Law. That is what I have been doing, that is what I am doing, and that is what I will continue to do as long as I am the Archivist of the United States.

A Call to Action for Scholars of American History: Contribute to Wikipedia

Our mission at the National Archives is to drive openness, cultivate public participation, and strengthen our nation’s democracy through public access to government records.  We are fast approaching the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a hallmark of the expansion of democracy here in the United States. On March 8, we will open our exhibit, Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote, which celebrates its modern relevance through inclusive retelling of the women’s suffrage movement.

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Photograph of Suffrage Parade, 1913. National Archives Identifier 593561

As the National Archives, along with many other organizations, prepares for the 19th Amendment’s centennial we are working hard to increase access to the records we hold around women’s suffrage. One way we are doing this is by collaborating with Wiki Education, a nonprofit focused on empowering people to expand and improve Wikipedia content for the benefit of all. Through this collaboration, Wiki Education is launching a new virtual, immersive training course designed to give participants the skills and practical experience necessary to improve Wikipedia coverage of the history of women’s voting rights in the United States.

Participants in this new course will have the privilege of working with NARA’s subject matter experts on documents related to women’s suffrage and will learn how to use National Archives records to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of this historic period in our nation’s history. For scholars with a passion for American history, this presents a chance to improve the content of Wikipedia and make it more representative, accurate, and complete using original source materials. Channeling NARA collections into Wikipedia is an opportunity to share our content more broadly and connect with people across the United States and around the world.

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Wikimedians add and improve culture at the Proposed Amendments Edit-a-Thon at the National Archives, 2016

In keeping with our strategic goal to connect with our customers, this collaboration with Wiki Education will allow scholars to contextualize archival documents in relevant Wikipedia articles while expanding access to NARA holdings on Wikipedia. It is critical that NARA continues to grow and diversify our audience by connecting our collections with Wikipedia’s hundreds of millions of readers. This collaboration provides an opportunity to deepen our engagement with audiences as they take part in our mission and do meaningful service work on behalf of the country and fellow citizens.

I am proud that NARA can expand the reach of its materials and engage new avenues to directly improve public knowledge.

For more information about this program and Wiki Scholars visit https://wikiedu.org/national-archives-professional-development/