September and October Daytime Programs at the National Archives
Press Release · Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Washington, DC

The National Archives continues its series of daytime programs on topics including World War II, and the U.S. Constitution.

These programs are free and open to the public and will be held at noon (unless otherwise noted) 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.

FILM SCREENING/TALK: World War II and the First Motion Picture Unit Films
Tuesday, September 19, 2 p.m.; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
National Archives and Records Administration Join preservation specialists Audrey Amidon and Heidi Holmstrom for an overview of the Army Air Corps’ First Motion Picture Unit from World War II with film clips that include recognizable stars who served in that unit. Presentation materials available at www.archives.gov/calendar/know-your-records.

BOOK TALK: Constitutional Ethos: Liberal Equality for the Common Good
Wednesday, September 27, noon; watch a live stream on our YouTube Channel
U.S. judges, courts, and scholars agree that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, but there is much disagreement about its meaning. In his book, Constitutional Ethos, constitutional law professor Alexander Tsesis investigates the fundamental constitutional principles, meaning and interpretation, and promotes a theory of constitutional law structured on the public duty to protect individual rights for the common good. A book signing follows the program.

BOOK TALK: The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943: The War in the West, Vol. II
Friday, October 13, at noon
In James Holland’s The Allies Strike Back, Germany’s invasion of Russia unfolds in the east while in the west, the Americans formally enter the war, defeat Rommel in North Africa, and the bombing of Germany escalates, aiming to destroy Nazi industry and crush civilian morale. A book signing will follow the program.  

BOOK TALK: Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
Wednesday, October 18, at noon
In the tradition of Hidden Figures and The Girls of Atomic City, Liza Mundy’s Code Girls is the astonishing, untold story of the young American women who cracked key Axis codes, helping to secure Allied victory and revolutionizing the field of cryptanalysis. A book signing will follow the program.    

FILM SCREENING: Apollo 13
Friday, October 20, at 2 p.m.  
2017 National Archives Foundation Records of Achievement Awardee Tom Hanks stars in the true story of the 1970 lunar mission, which suffered an explosion in space that disabled the ship, leaving the astronauts and Mission Control to work frenetically on devising a plan to get the men home safely.  Also stars Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, and Ed Harris.  Directed by Ron Howard.  (1995; 140 minutes; rated PG)

BOOK TALK: We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution
Monday, October 23, at noon
In professor George William Van Cleve’s book, We Have Not a Government, we encounter a sharply divided America and a Congress that grudgingly agreed to support the 1787 Constitutional Convention to replace the Articles of Confederation with a more flexible and powerful government. A book signing will follow the program.

BOOK TALK: Documents that Changed the Way We Live
Monday, October 30, at noon
Documents are milestones and markers of human activity, and our stories can be told through them. In Documents that Changed the Way We Live, professor Joseph Janes examines dozens of stories that describe these documents via their creation, motivation, influence, and connections to contemporary information objects, technologies, and trends. A book signing will follow the program.