Free Noontime Author Talks and Film Screenings at the National Archives in February and March 2018
Press Release · Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Washington, DC

The National Archives continues its series of daytime programs with film screenings and authors discussing books on topics including slavery, Thomas Jefferson’s daughters, the Vietnam War, First Ladies, and the fight for women’s right to vote. All book talk programs will be followed by a book signing.

These programs are free and open to the public and will be held at noon in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC.  Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.  Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station. Reservations are recommended and can be made online. For those without reservations, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The Theater doors will open 45 minutes prior to the start of the program. Late seating will not be permitted 20 minutes after the program begins.

BOOK TALK: Jefferson’s Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America
Tuesday, February 6, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
Thomas Jefferson fathered three daughters, two white and one black. In her book Jefferson’s Daughters, history professor Catherine Kerrison discusses the fascinating lives of these three very different women—Martha and Maria Jefferson and Harriet Hemings—while depicting the life of Thomas Jefferson through their eyes.

BOOK TALK: Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital
Friday, February 16, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
In their book, Chocolate City, professors Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove tell the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our nation's capital, which has often served as a national battleground for contentious issues.  

BOOK TALK: The Great Stain: Witnessing American Slavery
Thursday, February 22, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
There have been numerous books about slavery in America, but there is a dearth of material exposing what slavery was actually like. In The Great Stain, author Noel Rae provides first- hand accounts from former slaves, slave owners, and even African slavers.

BOOK TALK: Harold Brown: Offsetting the Soviet Military Challenge, 1977–1981
Monday, March 5, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
Edward Keefer, author of Harold Brown: Offsetting the Soviet Military Challenge, 1977–1981, will moderate a discussion on how the former Secretary of Defense Brown worked to counter the Soviet Union’s growing military strength during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. Also participating in the discussion will be former Secretaries of Defense Harold Brown and William Perry and historian Eliot Cohen. Presented in partnership with the Historical Office of the Secretary of Defense.

FILM SCREENING: Democracy’s Messengers: The Never-Before-Told Story of Young Americans on Capitol Hill
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Narrated by Cokie Roberts, the film Democracy’s Messengers provides a fly-on-the-wall peek into Washington’s halls of power. For centuries, a select group of young people have been recruited from across the country to serve as “pages” in the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court. The film reveals their stories and recounts the tumultuous events in U.S. history they witnessed—from the Revolutionary War to 9/11. Following the screening of the 30-minute film, producer Jerry Papazian will talk with former pages Frank Mitchell (House '65, the first 20th-century African American page), Jonathan Turley (House ’79), and Camilla Bosanquet (House ‘91).

BOOK TALK: First Ladies of the Republic
Wednesday, March 7, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
Jeanne E. Abrams takes a look at the First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. The position of First Lady was not officially authorized or defined, but they worked to project a public persona that inspired approval and confidence. While helping to burnish their husbands' Presidential reputations, they also helped to define a role for women in public and private life in America.

BOOK TALK:This Grand Experiment: When Women Entered the Federal Workforce in Civil War–Era Washington, DC
Tuesday, March 13, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
The need for soldiers during the Civil War reduced the ranks of male employees in the government. As a result, federal employment was offered to women. As described by Jessica Ziparo in her book This Grand Experiment, women saw this as a rare chance to obtain well-paid, challenging work. Despite discrimination, prejudice, and harassment, women persisted and succeeded in making their presence in the federal workforce permanent.

BOOK TALK: Alexander Hamilton on Finance, Credit, and Debt
Wednesday, March 14, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
Author Richard Sylla traces the development of Hamilton’s financial thinking, policies, and actions through a selection of his writings. Sylla demonstrates the impact Hamilton had on the modern economic system and guide readers through Hamilton’s distinguished career.

FILM SCREENINGS: From the Vaults: Remembering Vietnam
Thursday, March 15, 2018
The second in a series of archival selections from the National Archives’ motion picture holdings related to the war in Vietnam. Today’s films will be A Day in Vietnam (1967; 30 minutes) and Vietnam Crucible (1968; 30 minutes.)

BOOK TALK:The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
Tuesday, March 27, 2018; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
In The Woman’s Hour, Elaine Weiss describes the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. After a seven-decade crusade, one last state is needed to pass the amendment; Tennessee. Opposing forces converge in Nashville for a vicious face-off in one of the first battles for civil rights.