Betty Ford: Raising Breast Cancer Awareness

Past Exhibit
Betty Ford Raising Breast Cancer Awareness Past Exhibit … Cancer wherever it strikes the body, also strikes the spirit, and the best doctors in the world can't cure the spirit, only love and understanding can.  — Betty Ford, November 7, 1975 View Gallery Betty Ford's remarks to the American Cancer Society Just weeks after she became First Lady, Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer. On September 26, 1974, doctors discovered a lump in her breast during a routine medical examination. She underwent a …

First Continental Congress

Virtual Exhibit
First Continental Congress Virtual Exhibit … The First Continental Congress convened to discuss united resistance to the Coercive Acts and issued a Declaration of Rights and the Articles of Association. Recognizing that unity would be essential to forcing a repeal of the so-called "Intolerable Acts," the Continental Association formed local committees to put economic pressure on Parliament–and on their neighbors–to submit to patriotic …

The Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth

Past Exhibit
The Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth Ongoing Exhibit … Milestones in the long struggle for American freedom Emancipation Proclamation President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached the third year of the Civil War. Lincoln's proclamation, which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free,” was “a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing rebellion.” The Proclamation also …

80 Years Since the End of World War II

Past Exhibit
80 Years Since the End of World War II Current Exhibit … World War II, the deadliest military conflict in history, ended six years and one day after the war erupted in Europe. On September 2, 1945, just four months after Nazi Germany’s surrender, Japanese officials issued an imperial order and signed a formal surrender ending hostilities in the Pacific Theater. Instrument of Surrender, September 2, 1945. Records of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff View in the National Archives Catalog Instrument of …

Opening the Vault: Washington and Franklin

Virtual Exhibit
Opening the Vault Washington and Franklin Virtual Exhibit … From May 7 to August 6, 2025, the National Archives Museum will feature historic, handwritten documents of two Founding Fathers: President George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. These items emphasize landmark milestones in American history, honoring the first Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and the first Postmaster General. These historic treasures also commemorate the 250th anniversaries establishing the U.S. Army and U.S. Postal …

Opening the Vault: Freedom Train 1947

Virtual Exhibit
Opening the Vault Freedom Train 1947 Virtual Exhibit … In September 1947, a seven-car train set off from Philadelphia on a journey around the U.S. with precious cargo on board: more than a hundred of the country’s most valued historical documents. The museum on rails was called the Freedom Train. It was a major civic and educational project designed to energize the country with American …