Past Events
-
January 28 Friday
Online - 11:15am to 11:45am
Make Your Voice Count: Learning About the First Amendment (Grades K–2)
Students will explore the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights using primary historical sources.
-
January 27 Thursday
Online - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Lunch & Learn - January 2022
This monthly series is held the 4th Thursday of each month. The 2022 program theme is "Dwight Eisenhower: The Making of a Leader" and will focus on family, military, presidency, and mentorship.
-
January 26 Wednesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Watching Darkness Fall: FDR, His Ambassadors, and the Rise of Adolf Hitler
David McKean's "Watching Darkness Fall" recounts the rise of the Third Reich in Germany and the road to war from the perspective of four American diplomats in Europe who witnessed it firsthand.
-
January 20 Thursday
Online - 11:00am to 12:00pm
National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program: Meet Fannie Lou Hamer
Young Learners can meet Fannie Lou Hamer, an activist in the 1960s and 1970s for voting rights, civil rights, and women’s rights (as portrayed by Sheila Arnold).
-
January 19 Wednesday
Kansas City Area - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
David Harris on "The Contemporary Meaning of Auschwitz"
David Harris will discuss the rise in antisemitism globally, the receding memory of the Holocaust, and the enduring lessons of Auschwitz for our world. -
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
The Shattering: America in the 1960s
Covering the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Kevin Boyle’s new book, The Shattering, focuses on the period’s fierce conflicts—the civil rights movement, rising Black nationalism, busing, and the Vietnam War.
-
January 17 Monday
Online - 11:30am to 12:30pm
Celebrate! with Bamidele Dancers and Drummers - Wongai!/Let's Go!
Join in celebratory West African dances and their adaptations in Brazilian and Caribbean cultures, as well as throughout the United States.
-
January 12 Wednesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South
On the eve of the Civil War, most people of color in the United States toiled in bondage. Yet nearly half a million people of color, including over 250,000 in the South, were free.
-
January 6 Thursday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Walk with Me: A Biography of Civil Rights Leader Fannie Lou Hamer
This new biography offers a fresh and stirring reappraisal of Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and impact on the civil rights movement .
-
January 1 Saturday
Online - 3:00pm
Notably Absent: Presidential No-Shows and Other Mishaps on Inauguration Day with Thomas Balcerski
VIRTUAL -- Noted presidential historian and CNN contributor, Thomas Balcerski, explores the surprisingly numerous instances of presidential absence on Inauguration Day. Learn about the five presidents who failed to attend the inaugurations of their successors and the two presidents who did not participate for other reasons (hint: one of them involves Gerald Ford). -
Online - 3:00pm
Women in Uniform Exhibit Opening
VIRTUAL -- Rear Admiral (retired) Samuel J. Cox, Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, and his colleague, Gale Munro, Curator of the Naval Art Gallery, virtually open the exhibit Women in Uniform. -
Online - 1:00pm
Notably Absent: Presidential No-Shows and Other Mishaps on Inauguration Day with Thomas Balcerski
VIRTUAL -- Noted presidential historian and CNN contributor, Thomas Balcerski, explores the surprisingly numerous instances of presidential absence on Inauguration Day. Learn about the five presidents who failed to attend the inaugurations of their successors and the two presidents who did not participate for other reasons (hint: one of them involves Gerald Ford). -
Online - 1:00pm
Women in Uniform Exhibit Opening
VIRTUAL -- Rear Admiral (retired) Samuel J. Cox, Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, and his colleague, Gale Munro, Curator of the Naval Art Gallery, virtually open the exhibit Women in Uniform. -
Online - 11:00am
Notably Absent: Presidential No-Shows and Other Mishaps on Inauguration Day with Thomas Balcerski
VIRTUAL -- Noted presidential historian and CNN contributor, Thomas Balcerski, explores the surprisingly numerous instances of presidential absence on Inauguration Day. Learn about the five presidents who failed to attend the inaugurations of their successors and the two presidents who did not participate for other reasons (hint: one of them involves Gerald Ford). -
Online - 11:00am
Women in Uniform Exhibit Opening
VIRTUAL -- Rear Admiral (retired) Samuel J. Cox, Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, and his colleague, Gale Munro, Curator of the Naval Art Gallery, virtually open the exhibit Women in Uniform.
-
December 16 Thursday
Online - 1:15pm to 1:45pm
Voting Rights, the Constitution & Representative Government (Grades 6-8)
Students will explore the progression of voting rights in the United States and its impact on representative government. -
Online - 11:15am to 11:45am
No Conscription Without Representation: Voting Rights & the Constitution (Grades 9–12)
Students will explore the progression of voting rights in the United States with particular focus on the effort to lower the voting age to 18. -
Online - 11:00am to 12:00pm
National Archives Comes Alive! Meet General George Washington
Young Learners can meet Gen. George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (as portrayed by Doug Thomas).
-
December 15 Wednesday
Online - 2:15pm to 3:00pm
The First Amendment: Five Rights in One! (Grades 3–5)
Students will explore the First Amendment freedoms from the Bill of Rights in this interactive and engaging civics program -
Online - 1:15pm to 1:45pm
Make Your Voice Count: Learning About the First Amendment (Grades K–2)
In this interactive civics program, students will explore the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights using primary historical sources. -
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Bill of Rights Day: "Anti-Federalists and the Bill of Rights"
Using clips from the documentary series "Confounding Father: A Contrarian View of the U.S. Constitution," scholars will discuss the arguments of the Anti-Federalists over the Bill of Rights. -
Online - 11:15am to 12:00pm
The Bill of Rights Protects You (Grades 6–12)
Students will explore the Bill of Rights and how it outlines both limits on government and the rights of the people
-
December 13 Monday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
American Comics: A History
Jeremy Dauber will discuss the sweeping story of cartoons, comic strips, and graphic novels and their century-long hold on the American imagination.
-
December 9 Thursday
Online - 7:00pm to 8:00pm
The Supreme Court and the Peril of Politics
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will discuss his recently published book, and a panel of experts will debate the central argument in his text and other challenges facing the Court. -
Online - 10:00am to 1:00pm
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee Meeting
This virtual meeting is open to the public in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app. 2).
-
December 8 Wednesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery
Bruce. Ragsdale takes a fresh, original look at George Washington as an innovative land manager whose singular passion for farming would unexpectedly lead him to reject slavery.
-
December 7 Tuesday
Online - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Online Screening of December 7th
For the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we'll show the 20-minute film "December 7th," which won the 1944 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
-
December 1 Wednesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Choctaw Confederates: The American Civil War in Indian Country
Author Fay A. Yarbrough reveals that, while sovereignty and states’ rights mattered to the Choctaw Nation’s leaders, the survival of slavery also determined the Nation’s support of the Confederacy.
-
November 23 Tuesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
H. W. Brands describes the American Revolution in a way that shows it to be more than a fight against the British: it was also a violent battle among neighbors forced to choose sides, Loyalist or Patriot.
-
November 20 Saturday
Online - 11:30am to 12:30pm
Celebrate! with Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers
Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers share stories of both their history and modern culture in a virtual performance that culminates with a dance in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
-
November 19 Friday
Online - 1:15pm to 1:45pm
The Constitution Rules! For Grades K–2
In this 30-minute program, students will explore the idea of different responsibilities in their community and analyze images that highlight the jobs of the three branches of government. -
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
The Black Man’s President
This history of Lincoln’s personal connections with Black people over the course of his career reveals a side of the 16th President that, until now, has not been fully explored or understood. -
Online - 11:15am to 12:00pm
The Constitution and Our Community for Grades 3-5
In this 45-minute program, students will explore the idea of community, hone their primary source analysis skills by examining government records, and connect the Constitution to their own lives.
-
November 18 Thursday
Online - 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Saving the Freedom of Information Act
In her new book, Professor Margaret Kwoka examines how use of the Freedom of Information Act has changed since its enactment, creating new processes that have had a deleterious impact on journalists and the media.
-
November 17 Wednesday
Online - 10:00am to 12:30pm
Chief FOIA Officers Council Meeting
This virtual meeting is open to the public.
-
November 16 Tuesday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy
Gayle Jessup White, a Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’s family, explores America’s racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors. Historian Annette Gordon-Reed will join the author. -
Online - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Lunch & Learn Special Edition with NASA
Lunchtime virtual presentation with brief audience questions and answers.
-
November 15 Monday
Online - 11:00am to 12:00pm
National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program: Meet Frederick Douglass
In this Young Learners Program, Phil Darius Wallace portrays Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.
-
November 12 Friday
Online - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
A Scottish Blockade Runner in the American Civil War: Joannes Wyllie of the Steamer Ad-Vance
John F. Messner's book describes the Civil War blockade of the South and explores the story of how one British mariner came to command the steamer "Ad-Vance," one of the most successful runners of the war.
-
November 10 Wednesday
Online - 11:00am to 12:00pm
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Jeff Gottesfeld, author of "Twenty-One Steps," and a Tomb guard discuss the significance of the Tomb.
All events listed in the calendar are free unless noted.