1. 15 May


    If you were from the Soviet Union back then, where would you be able to travel in the U.S.? Fascinating map here: http://ow.ly/l3ORG    

    If you were from the Soviet Union back then, where would you be able to travel in the U.S.? Fascinating map here: http://ow.ly/l3ORG

     

     

     

  2. 14 May


    Producers of the original Star Trek series distributed this photocopied guide to the show’s writers in 1967. They were all on a major mission to avoid cheesiness and scientific error. (Also forbidden: uniforms with pockets.) http://slate.me/YToqxJ

    Producers of the original Star Trek series distributed this photocopied guide to the show’s writers in 1967. They were all on a major mission to avoid cheesiness and scientific error. (Also forbidden: uniforms with pockets.) http://slate.me/YToqxJ

     

  3. 13 May


    newberrylibrary: In the early spring of 1788, John Adams returned from Europe, where he’d spent a decade conducting diplomatic business. He arrived in Massachusetts at a seminal moment; he was stateside, acclimating to his Braintree home, when the U.S. Constitution was formally ratified. On June 19, when ratification was all but certain, Adams addressed a letter to the Massachusetts Legislature. In his epistle, transcribed below, he thanks lawmakers, who extended a warm welcome to their long-absent statesman. And in a premonitory passage, Adams extols the liberties that the “Nation now enjoys.” To the Honorable the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The kind and condescending Congratulations of so illustrious a Body as the Legislature of Massachusetts, on my arrival with my Family, in this my native country does me great honor and demands my most grateful Acknowledgement. If the Dangers and Fatigues which have fallen to my share in the Course of a memorable Revolution, have contributed in any degree, to the acquisition or security, of those inestimable Blessings of Independence, of Commerce and Trinity (?), of civil and religious Liberty which this highly favored (?) Nation now enjoys the reflexion (sic) on them will be a source of some salvation (?) to me, to my latest Period: and the Candour and Indulgence with which they have been received by my Fellow Citizens, will ever be remembered with Gratitude. David McCullough, whose biography of John Adams won a Pulitzer Prize, is this year’s recipient of The Newberry Library Award. John Adams, first published in 2001, is now in its 82nd printing, and remains one of the most praised and widely read American biographies.

    newberrylibrary:

    In the early spring of 1788, John Adams returned from Europe, where he’d spent a decade conducting diplomatic business. He arrived in Massachusetts at a seminal moment; he was stateside, acclimating to his Braintree home, when the U.S. Constitution was formally ratified.

    On June 19, when ratification was all but certain, Adams addressed a letter to the Massachusetts Legislature. In his epistle, transcribed below, he thanks lawmakers, who extended a warm welcome to their long-absent statesman. And in a premonitory passage, Adams extols the liberties that the “Nation now enjoys.”

    To the Honorable the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

    The kind and condescending Congratulations of so illustrious a Body as the Legislature of Massachusetts, on my arrival with my Family, in this my native country does me great honor and demands my most grateful Acknowledgement.

    If the Dangers and Fatigues which have fallen to my share in the Course of a memorable Revolution, have contributed in any degree, to the acquisition or security, of those inestimable Blessings of Independence, of Commerce and Trinity (?), of civil and religious Liberty which this highly favored (?) Nation now enjoys the reflexion (sic) on them will be a source of some salvation (?) to me, to my latest Period: and the Candour and Indulgence with which they have been received by my Fellow Citizens, will ever be remembered with Gratitude.

    David McCullough, whose biography of John Adams won a Pulitzer Prize, is this year’s recipient of The Newberry Library Award. John Adams, first published in 2001, is now in its 82nd printing, and remains one of the most praised and widely read American biographies.

     

  4. 13 May


    Happy Monday! Today, we’re loving this unintentionally funny 70s newsletter for feminist men. (They are so earnest!) To learn more, read here:  http://slate.me/15FQt6N

    Happy Monday! Today, we’re loving this unintentionally funny 70s newsletter for feminist men. (They are so earnest!) To learn more, read here:  http://slate.me/15FQt6N

     

  5. 10 May


    When people recently escaped from slavery on Jefferson Davis’ plantation reached the Union camp at Vicksburg, this sketch artist caught the scene on paper: http://slate.me/Yz6y93

    When people recently escaped from slavery on Jefferson Davis’ plantation reached the Union camp at Vicksburg, this sketch artist caught the scene on paper: http://slate.me/Yz6y93

     

  6. 9 May


    A Vietnam vet wrote a quite candid telegram to Reagan in 1983. Here is the President’s reply… http://slate.me/Yxa3N7

    A Vietnam vet wrote a quite candid telegram to Reagan in 1983. Here is the President’s reply… http://slate.me/Yxa3N7

     

  7. 8 May


    Do you have what it takes to be a secretary (that is, in the Mad men era)? http://slate.me/18YrhEK

    Do you have what it takes to be a secretary (that is, in the Mad men era)? http://slate.me/18YrhEK

     

  8. 7 May


    todaysdocument:

    It’s always Teacher Appreciation Week at the National Archives!

    Our Education Specialists work year-round to provide teachers with free resources for teaching with primary sources. From DC to our National Archives and Presidential Library locations around the country, we create and share lesson plans, learning activities, field trip and professional development opportunities, and multimedia and web content. Our new blog is the best way to stay up-to-date on our latest resources. So far we’ve included posts about the Common Core Standards, document spotlights, online tools, partner organizations, professional development, free programs, research tips, and of course teaching activities and lesson plans from our online site for teaching with documents, DocsTeach.org.

    And follow education resources from the National Archives at:

     

  9. 7 May


    This certificate was awarded to British soldiers in WWII who had returned from behind enemy lines: http://slate.me/10EjOFz

    This certificate was awarded to British soldiers in WWII who had returned from behind enemy lines: http://slate.me/10EjOFz

     

  10. 2 May


    The tradition of leaving tokens ended in the early nineteenth century, when the hospital began to follow the much more efficient—albeit prosaic—procedure of issuing receipts to mothers who surrendered their children. But before that, there were tokens. More here: http://slate.me/12ss5hz

    The tradition of leaving tokens ended in the early nineteenth century, when the hospital began to follow the much more efficient—albeit prosaic—procedure of issuing receipts to mothers who surrendered their children.


    But before that, there were tokens. More here:     http://slate.me/12ss5hz