June 2008
Washington, DC, Area Events
Rotunda Construction
During July and August improvements are being made to the display cases that flank the Charters of Freedom. The original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights will remain open, but adjacent displays may be closed.
Program Highlights
Politicians cozy up to the "working man" in "The Stage of the Campaign When the Working Man Feels His Importance," a Clifford Berryman cartoon from November 1898. See more political cartoons in the exhibit "Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman."
- Women in Leadership
Maureen Bunyan moderates a panel featuring immigrant women who are also entrepreneurs and business leaders. (June 11) - Electoral College
Robert Richie, co-founder and director of Fair Vote, explores the purpose and relevance of the Electoral College. Note: Space for this program is limited. (June 2) - Cuban Missile Crisis
A book lecture and a film screening explore the events of October 1962. (June 25, 26) - Running for Office Film Series
A screening of The Best Man complements our exhibit “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman.” (June 14) - National History Day
The National Archives celebrates National History Day by displaying winning student exhibit boards from this year’s national competition. (June 18) - Noontime Lecture Series
An Author discusses his book on World War I. (June 11) - Know Your Records Programs
Learn about Revolutionary War records available at Footnote.com. (June 3, 5, 24)
Exhibit Highlights
- Special Exhibit
“Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman” highlights political cartoons from the first half of the 20th century. - Permanent Exhibits
The Charters of Freedom, A New World Is at Hand, The Public Vaults, Magna Carta - Special Exhibit in College Park, MD
The Long View
Locations, Hours, and Contact Information
All events listed in the calendar are free unless noted; reservations are not required unless noted. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue.
Women in Leadership
Maureen Bunyan
Wednesday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater
Citizens by Choice: Women in Business Leadership
Many Americans are surprised to learn that there is a large and growing group
of immigrant women entrepreneurs and business leaders who are rapidly making
their mark in the U.S. business sector, in every region of the country and
across a wide range of industries. Their talents and skills have positively
contributed to the evolution of business and industry. What are the challenges
they face, and how have they used gender and nationality as strengths in
building their businesses? Tonight, WJLA news anchor Maureen Bunyan moderates
a panel featuring women business leaders who are also naturalized U.S. citizens: Yolanda Maria Welch, CEO,
Respira Medical; Maria de Lourdes Sobrino, founder and CEO, Lulu’s
Dessert Corporation; Sheela Murthy, founder, president, and managing attorney,
Murthy Law Firm; Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, Maryland state representative and
executive director/owner, Extended Family Adult Daycare, Inc.; and Susan
C. Pearce, professor of sociology, East Carolina University, and author of Immigrating
Women. This program is generously supported by the William G. McGowan
Fund, Inc.
Electoral College
Monday, June 2, at 4 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater
The Electoral College: What Does It Mean Today?
What is the purpose of the Electoral College? Does it have the same
relevance in today’s election process as it did in the time of the Founding
Fathers? Robert Richie, co-founder and director of FairVote
(formerly the Center for Voting and Democracy), will address the history of
the Electoral College, its pros and cons, and its impact on votes and election
outcomes. Ray Mosley, director of the National Archives’ Office of the
Federal Register, will provide an introduction and explain the role that the
Federal Register plays in the Electoral College process. This program
is being held in partnership with the Close-Up Foundation for its student participants.
A very limited number of public seats will be available. Seats must be reserved
by calling Katie Wilmes at 202-357-5127.
More about the Electoral College
Cuban Missile Crisis
Wednesday, June 25, at noon
Jefferson Room
One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet
Union appeared to be sliding inexorably toward a nuclear conflict over the
placement of missiles in Cuba. Veteran Washington Post reporter Michael
Dobbs pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources
to produce One Minute to Midnight, a new book on the Cuban Missile
Crisis. In his hour-by-hour chronicle of those tense days, Dobbs reveals some
startling incidents that illustrate how close we came to Armageddon. A book
signing will follow the program.
Thursday, June 26, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
Thirteen Days
Based on the book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During
the Cuban Missile Crisis, by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow, the film Thirteen
Days dramatizes the events of October 1962. It stars Bruce Greenwood as
President John F. Kennedy, Steven Culp as Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and
Kevin Costner as Special Assistant Kenneth O’Donnell. Directed by Roger
Donaldson. (2000, 145 minutes)
Running for Office
The Center for the National Archives Experience is pleased to present programs in celebration of our new exhibit, “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman,” which runs through August 17 in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery. The Running for Office film series is generously supported by Chevy Chase Bank.
Saturday, June 14, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
Running for Office Film Series—The Best Man
Several ambitious Presidential candidates vie for important endorsements
in this bristling drama, adapted from Gore Vidal’s play. Stars Henry Fonda
and Cliff Robertson. (1964, 102 minutes)
View the Running for Office Online Exhibit
National History Day
Wednesday, June 18, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Boeing Learning Center
National History Day Projects—Conflict & Compromise in History
The National Archives celebrates National History Day (NHD) by displaying
winning student exhibit boards from this year’s National History Day national
competition, which takes place June 15–19. Each year, more than half a
million middle and high school students, encouraged by thousands of teachers
nationwide, participate in the NHD program. Students choose historical topics
related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research using
libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews, and more. The student
exhibit boards on display at the National Archives are required to have at least
one record from the National Archives, its regional archives, or its Presidential
libraries. Student designers will be present to explain and discuss their projects.
Noontime Lecture Series
Wednesday, June 4, at noon CANCELED
William G. McGowan Theater
To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918
In his latest book, To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argone, 1918, author Edward
G. Lengel fills a void in World War I historiography by providing
a detailed account of this important battle. The Meuse-Argonne offensive, the
last battle of the Great War and the bloodiest the United States had ever seen,
led to the armistice between the victorious Allied forces and the overcome
German army. No single battle in American military history has ever approached
the Meuse-Argonne in size and human cost, and Lengel maintains that it was
the country’s most critical military contribution to the Allied cause
in the First World War. A book signing will follow the program.
Wednesday, June 11, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
Borrowed Soldiers: Americans Under British Command, 1918
In his book Borrowed Soldiers, archivist and educator Mitchell
A. Yockelson delivers a comprehensive study of the first time American
and British soldiers fought together as a coalition force. The combined British
Expeditionary Force and American II Corps successfully pierced the Hindenburg
Line during the Hundred Days Campaign of World War I. Yockelson follows the
two divisions that comprised the American II Corps from the training camps
of South Carolina to the bloody battlefields of Europe and shows how the combined
British and American forces contributed to the Allied victory. A book signing
will follow the program.
Know Your Records Programs: June
Tuesday, June 3, at 11 a.m.
Room G-24, Research Center (Enter on Pennsylvania Avenue)
Revolutionary War Records at Footnote.com
Beau Sharbrough, vice president of content for Footnote.com, will discuss Revolutionary War records available at Footnote.com. (This lecture will be repeated at the National Archives at College Park, MD, in Lecture Room B, on Thursday, June 5, at 11 a.m.)
Tuesday, June 24, at 11:30 a.m.
Room G-24, Research Center (Enter on Pennsylvania Avenue)
Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War
Drawing information on 40,000 Civil War soldiers from government documents, soldiers' journals, and one of the most extensive research projects about Union Army soldiers ever undertaken, authors Dora L. Costa and Matthew Kahn uncover the vivid stories, social influences, and crucial networks that influenced soldiers' lives both during and after the war. Heroes and Cowards explores such questions as: When are people willing to sacrifice for the common good? What are the benefits of friendship? How do communities deal with betrayal? And what are the costs and benefits of being in a diverse community?
Presenters will be Dora L. Costa,author of The Evolution of Retirement: An American Economic History, 1880–1990, and Robert W. Fogel, noted economic historian and Nobel laureate in economics.
Boeing Learning Center
An exciting space designed to provide parents and educators of all levels with methods and materials for teaching with primary source documents. Open Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Exhibits
Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom:The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are on permanent display in the Rotunda. "A New World Is at Hand" surrounds the Rotunda's centerpiece cases. Presenting a selection of milestone documents, the exhibit chronicles the creation of the Charters of Freedom in the 18th century and their impact on the course of history in the United States and around the world.
The Public Vaults: This interactive exhibit invites visitors into the stacks and vaults of the National Archives to explore the raw material from which history is made. From Washington's letters, Lincoln's telegrams, and FDR's fireside chats to UFO reports and declassified secrets of World War II, these documents chronicle both great national events and the lives of individual Americans.
Magna Carta: This foundation document of English common law was confirmed by Edward I in 1297. Only four originals of the 1297 Magna Carta remain, and only one permanently resides in the United States. Purchased by David M. Rubenstein in 2007, it is on loan to the National Archives. West Rotunda Gallery.
Clifford Berryman self-portrait, 1904
Special Exhibit
Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman
Just in time for the Presidential campaign, political cartoons from the first
half of the 20th century provide relevant commentary and fascinating insight
into the campaigns and elections of today. In the Lawrence F. O’Brien
Gallery, through August 17.
View the Running for Office Online Exhibit
Special Exhibit in College Park, Maryland
Auditorium Lobby at the National Archives Research Center:
"The Long View" features digitally produced facsimiles of historic panoramic photographs from the Still Picture holdings.
Motorcycle Corps, Army Motor Service - Under Command of J. S. Berryman. US Capitol. Wash., DC. Jan. 26, 1919, By R. S. Clements. Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (165-PP-60-47)
The exhibit not only showcases the wide variety of panoramic techniques, but also includes National Archives records such as cartographic maps and patent drawings that relate to the photographs. Thirty-four panoramas and other records are on display and span the period from 1864 to 1997.
See more panoramas online.
Traveling Exhibits
The traveling exhibit program makes it possible for people across the country to experience selected historical documents and artifacts that reflect our national experience.
Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives
Drawing on rarely displayed documents, audio recordings, and film footage culled
from the extensive holdings of the National Archives and its Presidential libraries,
"Eyewitness" features first-person accounts of watershed moments in
history.
Online exhibit
Tour itinerary:
October 2008–January 2009 (tentative) |
Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, NE |
Online Exhibits
Dozens of exhibits can be experienced online. Visit Now!
Locations, Hours, and Contact Information
The National Archives Experience
Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW, Washington, DC
For details, see the Visitor's Map or visit the National Archives Experience.
- Daily, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
- Last admission is 30 minutes prior to closing.
Open every day except Thanksgiving and December 25.
Admission free.
All events listed in the calendar are free unless noted; reservations are not required unless noted. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue.
For details, see the Visitor's Map or visit the National Archives Experience.
For reservations or to be placed on the mailing list, call 202-357-5000 or e-mail public.program@nara.gov.
The National Archives Research Center
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC and 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD.
Research Hours have recently changed.
Check the Washington, DC and College
Park location information for details.
Call 202-357-5450 for a docent-led guided tour.
TDD: 301-837-0482. The National Archives is fully accessible. To request an accommodation (such as a sign language interpreter) for a public program, please call 202-357-5000 or e-mail public.program@nara.gov at least two weeks prior to the event.
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