Sylvia Mendez and the Struggle for Mexican American Civil Rights Current Exhibit … What inspired me is that my parents fought for me when I was very young. . . . They wanted me to know that I was an individual . . . that we're all individuals, that we're all human beings and that we're all connected together and that we all have the same rights; the same freedom. –Sylvia Mendez, February 16, 2011 Sylvia Mendez. Photograph by Richard Rivera, October 12, 2011. Image courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of …

70th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Past Exhibit … On April 4, 1949, in his brief remarks at the treaty signing ceremony, President Harry S. Truman said the North Atlantic Treaty “would create a shield against aggression and fear of aggression--a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of . . .achieving a fuller and happier life for all of our citizens.”  In honor of the NATO 70th Anniversary Summit, the National Archives and Records Administration is pleased to display this …

National Inventors Day Marjorie S Joyner Past Exhibit … Marjorie S. Joyner and her students from Madame Walker Beauty School, 1925 Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library   Among the first African American women to receive a patent, inventor Marjorie Stewart Joyner had an influential career as a teacher and activist. Born in 1896 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Marjorie Stewart moved to Chicago in 1912. Four years later, she was the first African American to graduate from the A. B. Moler Beauty …

Want to hunt for the Yeti Past Exhibit … Government Regulations for Yeti Expeditions in Nepal On November 30, 1959, the American Embassy in Kathmandu issued this memo outlining the regulations for American mountaineering expeditions in Nepal to search for the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman. Believed by some to reside in the Himalayan Mountains, interest in the Yeti spiked during the 1950s. This prompted the government of Nepal to issue regulations for Yeti-hunting parties. The U.S. State Department’s memo …

Behind the MusicalAlexander Hamilton Documents Past Exhibit … Can't get tickets to Hamilton? Come see the original documents from the Founding Father whose life and legacy inspired the musical. To mark the the run of Hamilton: An American Musical at The Kennedy Center, a collection of rare Alexander Hamilton documents related to lyrics from the hip-hop musical sensation will be on display. These historic records relate to Hamilton's service at the Battle of Yorktown, participation in the Constitutional …

20th Amendment A New Inauguration Day Ongoing Exhibit … The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was proposed by Congress in 1932 and ratified by the states on January 23, 1933. Since then, the President’s and Vice President’s terms begin midday on January 20. Congress begins on January 3. The amendment also defines a backup procedure in the event that a President-elect dies or has not been chosen by inauguration day–a statute that Congress has never needed to enact. Joint Resolution Proposing the 20th …

First Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin Past Exhibit … Four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment secured American women’s constitutional right to vote, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress. Political pioneer, suffragist, pacifist Four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment secured American women’s constitutional right to vote, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress. Rankin was sworn in as a representative for Montana on April 2, 1917. She served …