Category: Social Sciences, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
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April 22 -- October 29, 2000 "Remember the ladies," Abigail Adams had admonished her husband when our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence. This advice was ignored not only by John Adams but also by many subsequent generations. Now, over 200 years later, we see an encouraging transformation toward equal rights for women and a new curiosity about women's history. A fascinating array of female personalities have shaped our American experience,106 of whom are featured in our exhibit. Our opening gallery showcases unforgettable women who represent many qualities worthy of our appreciation. Then journey through time as women's struggles and progress from colonial times to the present are told through historical narratives and short biographies.
"American Originals" is a changing exhibit that has presented the nation's greatest documentary treasures in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building since December 1995. Over the years, the exhibit has featured the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the police blotter listing Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the first report of the Titanic's collision with an iceberg, Rosa Parks's arrest records, and many other items. Both famous and rare, these documents provide unique insights into the towering figures and events that have shaped U.S. history.
Here will be preserved all . . . the records that bind State to State and the hearts of all our people in an indissoluble union. --President Herbert Hoover, upon laying the cornerstone of the National Archives Building, February 20, 1933 American Originals presents some of the most treasured documents in the holdings of the National Archives. They have passed through the hands of George Washington, Helen Keller, Wyatt Earp, Napoleon, Rosa Parks, and John Hancock, connecting us physically to another moment in time. While some of the documents announce their own importance with a grand design, others quietly mark a revolution.
Here will be preserved all . . . the records that bind State to State and the hearts of all our people in an indissoluble union. --President Herbert Hoover, upon laying the cornerstone of the National Archives Building, February 20, 1933 In 1803 the young republic nearly doubles in size with the Louisiana Purchase. A casualty list of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment reveals the sacrifices of the most celebrated African-American regiment that fought in the Civil War. A police blotter lists the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire "There is practically nothing left..." “At 5:13 o’clock A.M. of this 18th day of April 1906 San Francisco and vicinity was visited with a most violent earthquake shock.” The clerk of the U.S. District Court of San Francisco wrote these words in the court minute book, explaining why court was adjourned that day. His note describes one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the United States.
