Today’s post is written by Liz Caringola, who works on our ancestry.com digitization project.

February 22, 2012, marks the 25^th anniversary of the death of American pop artist Andy Warhol.  The Pittsburgh native rose to fame in the 1960s as one of the most prominent members of the American pop art movement.  He remained a cultural icon until his sudden death in 1987.  His artistic talent and celebrity status earned him multiple invitations to the White House, particularly during the Carter Administration.

President Jimmy Carter met with Warhol on February 14, 1977.  According to the President’s daily diary, the meeting lasted for two minutes, but it does not mention the topic of conversation.  In the Monday, March 7, 1977, entry of The Andy Warhol Diaries, Warhol confesses that he was nervous and tongue-tied during the meeting and characterizes Carter as “a really nice man.”

Warhol was at the Carter White House again on June 14, 1977, for a reception for the Inaugural Portfolio Artists.  This photograph shows the President holding Jimmy Carter, a portrait done by Warhol to commemorate Carter’s inauguration.

 [National Archives Identifier: 175147]

This contact sheet shows additional photographs taken at the event:

[National Archives Identifier: 175143]

To browse or search President Carter’s daily schedules, visit the website of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.

Today’s post is written by  Aaron Mannes, a citizen researcher from the University of Maryland’s Laboratory of Computational Cultural Dynamics. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy who is writing a dissertation on the national security role of the vice president.  If you have a lot of time on your hands, ask him which vice president is his favorite.

As a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy I am researching the vice presidential role in national security affairs.  While the vast majority of vice presidents played only a tiny role, this has changed dramatically in recent years.  My particular area of interest is vice presidential influence – how and when does the vice president get to make policy?  The relationship between the president and vice president is essential, as the vice president has no real independent authority.

On a recent family trip to LA, I thought it would be worthwhile to visit the archives at the Nixon and Reagan Presidential Libraries.

Using the Archives

I know a great deal about vice presidents, but having never done archival research before, I put in calls to chat with the archivists and learn a little bit about what I was getting into.  They were extremely helpful.  There are extensive descriptions of the archival holdings online and the archivists urged me to identify what I was interested in, so that they could pull the boxes and have them waiting for me.

Picking what I wanted to see at the Nixon library was pretty easy.  The vast majority of Nixon’s records are about his presidency.  But I was interested in the Nixon vice presidency, so I identified a relatively small number of boxes relevant to my research.

The Reagan archives were a bit more of a challenge.  Reagan was never the vice president and there were only a few boxes referring to his vice president, George H. W. Bush.  Fortunately – this is all still over the phone – Jennifer Mandel, my contact at the Reagan Library, came to my rescue.

First, she explained that if I wanted to see documents about Bush, I needed to visit his library.  Then she gave me a short course on the nature of archival research.  In essence, a researcher needs to come in with some fairly specific ideas of what they seek – otherwise they will simply wade through endless masses of paper.  Since I am looking for instances in which vice presidents persuaded presidents to adopt policies, I needed to have a pretty good idea of what policies I was interested in and then start looking for the paper trail.

She was not discouraging me, only explaining the practicalities of my endeavor.  It is further complicated because a great deal of modern interactions between the president and vice president are informal and not on paper.

However, I had previously written a paper about a working group on terrorism led by Vice President Bush (and studying terrorism is my day job, so I had an additional interest.)  So we agreed that should be my focus.

A week later, at the archives, I settled down to actually do my research.  It is most helpful to the archivists if the researcher has already submitted requests for particular boxes – but they will do their best to pull them in a timely manner.  Facilitating public access to the documents is the critical mission for the archivists, and from what I saw they take it very seriously.

There was a form to fill out – no big deal – and some basic explanations.  The archivist monitoring the research room must be able to see the researcher’s hands (documents have been tampered with and pilfered.)  Also, documents should be handled carefully.  In particular, the archivists need to do any staple removals.  There are copy machines available, but through the miracle of technology, a celphone camera can serve as a scanner!  There are plenty of smartphone apps that facilitate this – but a camera with just a few mega-pixels will provide a decent image.

Nixon as VP

At the Nixon Library, much of the correspondence was work-a-day material focusing on vice presidential appearances.  Nixon is an interesting case, as he played a more active role than previous vice presidents, serving as campaigner-in-chief so that Eisenhower could appear to be above the political fray.  But this activity did not necessarily translate to influence for Nixon.  Recent vice presidents have had offices in the White House.  Nixon did not.  Many letters from Eisenhower were requests for meetings.  In more recent years, if the president wished to meet his vice president, he could just send an aide down the hall.  But, at the same time, Nixon was not excluded from the process.  He was a regular attendee at Cabinet and National Security Council meetings.  In fact, during periods of illness, Eisenhower instructed Nixon to hold and chair these meetings in the President’s absence in order to reduce concerns about Eisenhower’s health and its impact on the functioning of the government.

There were also a number of letters in which Eisenhower warmly thanks Nixon for his efforts and contributions.

Still, it isn’t clear if this meant that Nixon had much influence.  This particular memo seemed intriguing.  I don’t know the back-story, but it looks like the kind of note a boss sends when he wants an issue dropped.

The picture that appears of Nixon’s vice presidency is that while he took on whatever tasks he was given ably, he was perhaps not in Eisenhower’s inner council of advisors.

VP Bush Combatting Terrorism

In contrast, the documents for the George H. W. Bush Vice President’s Task Force on Combatting Terrorism were voluminous and making sense of them is a real challenge.  Still, there are interesting places where the internal bureaucratic machinations are exposed.  One of the purposes of the Task Force was to help get the various government agencies concerned with terrorism working together.  The hand-written notes attached to copies or in the margins of  reports give a real sense as to how that process worked.

Presidential Libraries

While visiting the archives, I had the added pleasure of at least a little time at the Presidential Libraries.    They are both lovely.  One of the highlights of the Reagan Library is Air Force One.

Reagan’s library is also located high in the hills overlooking Simi Valley.  It is breathtakingly beautiful.

I was told that the sunsets there are spectacular, but I couldn’t stay.  However, when I stepped outside of the Nixon Library the sun was setting.  I stood for a time and contemplated the great question of Presidential studies: Is it the man, or is it the moment, or is it perhaps a bit of each?

Do you have a research story to tell? Let us know!

All photographs courtesy of Mannes. Documents courtesy of the Nixon Presidential Library from the following series: Pre-Presidential Papers of Richard M. Nixon, 1946-ca. 1963. Documents from the Reagan Presidential Library are from the following collections: Counterterrorism and Narcotics; Arthur Culvahouse; and Executive Secretariat, NSC: National Security Decision Directives. Learn more about visiting a Presidential Library, and plan your own research project.

Presidents Day is celebrated in honor of the birthday of our first president, George Washington, who was born February 22nd.  But what if he was not actually the first President of the nation? What if we celebrated this holiday in April instead?  When all of the states ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1781, they voted for the first President.  John Hanson from Maryland was the first man to serve as the elected President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, thus making him acting President of the United States.  He was born on April 3, 1715.

John Hanson (National Archives Identifier 518070)

Article IX from the Articles of Confederation states, “The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated ‘A Committee of the States’, and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years;…”

Articles of Confederation (National Archives Identifier 301687)

As President of Congress, John Hanson was charged with presiding over the management of the general affairs of the United States for a short of about one year. More information about the office of the President under the Articles of Confederation can be found in the Letter Books of the Presidents of Congress, Samuel Huntington, Thomas Mckean, John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, and Arthur St. Clair, 1781-1787 (National Archives Identifier 2050101).

Federalists such as John Jay also fulfilled the role of President of Congress, but the status of his presidency was unequal because the states were not unified under a charter such as the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution. The line of United States Presidents began with John Hanson and his successors continued to serve as weak executives under the Articles until the ratification of the Constitution.  Article II of the United States Constitution firmly established the executive branch of government and strengthened the role of the Presidency.  To read Article II in its entirety and make the comparison, see Constitution of the United States (National Archives Identifier 1667751).

Given the recent appearance of the development company Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) in the news regarding the case of Alan Gross, the development worker who was jailed in Cuba in 2009 accused of working for U.S. intelligence services, I thought it would be worthwhile to mention that records relating to development projects of DAI can be found at Archives II in Record Group 286, records of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The series “Subject and Project Files Relating to Development Alternatives, Inc. and Local Action Projects, 1970-1976” (ARC Identifier 6124370) contains documents that demonstrate involvement of DAI in development projects in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Given the alleged unique relationship of DAI with the U.S. government, researchers will find this series contains records that help explain the relationship of DAI with USAID in the 1970s.

Come to Archives II if you are interested in researching the development history of DAI.

And for those interested in the status of Alan Gross’ detainment in Cuba, the Reuters recently published an article detailing the Cuban government charges against Gross.

Note: While these records are unclassified, they may contain controlled unclassified information (CUI) such as personally identifiable information (PII) and are subject to screening on demand. Once requested, they will be screened by NARA staff before being made available.

As 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the Reference staff at Archives 1 want to provide a glimpse of some of the series that we have in our custody relating to this conflict.  The following list may assist researchers who want to locate records pertaining to the War of 1812.  Please note that this list is not exhaustive, but is rather meant to be a starting point.

Records Relating to the U.S. Army and War Department:

• RG 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General
• Consolidated Correspondence, 1794-1890 (ARC Identifier 300350)
• RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office
• Correspondence
• Letters Sent, 1800-1890 (Microfilm Publication #M565; ARC Identifier 589522)
• Letters Received, 1805-1821 (Microfilm Publication #M566; ARC Identifier 300368)
• Miscellaneous Records
• Records of the War of 1812, 1812-1815  (ARC Identifier 1184845)
• Contains correspondence, receipts, disbursement papers, orders for arms
• Special Index to Miscellaneous Records (ARC Identifier 1184848)
• Records Relating to Prisoners
• Records Relating to War of 1812 Prisoners, 1812-1815 (ARC Identifier 1184852)
• Contains miscellaneous correspondence relating to both American and British prisoners
• Indexes to Records Relating to Prisoners (ARC Identifier 1184856)
• RG 98, Records of U.S. Army Commands, 1784-1821
• Correspondence, Company Books (Record Group Description: ARC Identifier 427)
• RG 107, Records of the Office of the Secretary of War
• Correspondence
• Letters Sent, 1800-1889 (Microfilm Publication #M6; ARC Identifier 627701)
• Letters Sent to the President, 1800-1863 (Microfilm Publication #M127; ARC Identifier 627704)
• Confidential and Unofficial Letters Sent, 1814-1847 (Microfilm Publication #M7; ARC Identifier 627847)
• Letters Received (Main Series), 1801-1889 (Microfilm Publication #M221; ARC Identifier 628093)
• Registers of Letters Received, 1800-1889 (Microfilm Publication #M22; ARC Identifier 628092)
• Unregistered Letters Received, 1789-1861 (Microfilm Publication #M222; ARC Identifier 628094)
• Miscellaneous Records, 1797-1879 (ARC Identifier 643058)
• RG 153, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General
• Courts-Martial Case Files, 1809-1938 (ARC Identifier 301659)

Records Relating the U.S. Navy:

•  RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Personnel (Navigation)
• Logs of US Navy Ships and Stations  1801-1946 (ARC Identifier 581208)
• RG 45, Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library
• Muster Rolls and Payrolls for US Navy Vessels 1798 – 1860 (Microfilm Publication #T829; ARC Identifier 1813771)
• Muster Rolls and Payrolls for US Navy Stations 1805 – 1869 (Microfilm Publication #T829; ARC Identifier 1814571)
• Letters Received (by the Secretary of the Navy) from Commanders, 1804-1886 (Microfilm Publication #M147; ARC Identifier 1786927)
• Letters Received (by the Secretary of the Navy) from Captains, 1805-1861 (Microfilm Publication #M125; ARC Identifier 718998)
• Letters Received from Commissioned Officers Below the Rank of Commander and From Warrant Officers (Officer’s Letters), 1802-1884 (Microfilm Publication #M148; ARC Identifier 718927)
• Area Files of the U.S. Navy 1775-1910  (ARC Identifier 300258)
• Subject File of the U.S. Navy 1775-1910  (ARC Identifier 439898). 
• Logs and Journal kept by Naval Officers 1776-1908 (ARC Identifier 1801187)
• Letters Received Accepting Appointments as Commissioned and Warrant Officers, 1812-1864 (Microfilm Publication #T829; ARC Identifier 1936743)
• Letters of Resignation Received from the Commissioned, Warrant and Acting Officers, 1812-1877 (Microfilm Publication #T829; ARC Identifier 1936751) 
• Service Records for the War of 1812 (partial and incomplete) (ARC Identifier 1756563) 

Please note that descriptions of the series from RG 45 are published in the finding aid Inventory of the Office of Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library and is available online the US Navy’s History and Heritage Command Website at www.history.navy.mil/library/guides/RG45.htm.

Much of the War of 1812 correspondence has been published in the three volume series, The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, edited by William S. Dudley and Michael J. Crawford, 1985.

Military Service Records and Pension Files

• RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office
• Compiled Military Service Records (Volunteers), 1812-1815 (ARC Identifier 300392)
• Regular Army Enlistment Papers, 1798-1912 (ARC Identifier 300390)
• Regular Army Registers of Enlistments, 1798-1912 (Microfilm Publication #M233; ARC Identifier 575272)
•  RG 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Pension Applications, including earlier Old Wars, both Army and Navy Veterans, ca. 1812-1900 (ARC Identifier 564415)
• “Old Wars” Pension Applications based on Service Between 1783-1861 (ARC Identifier 1105306)
• Bounty Land Warrant Applications, ca. 1812-1855 (ARC Identifier 567388)
• RG 49, Records of the Bureau of Land Management
• Surrendered Bounty Land Warrants, ca. 1850-1900 (ARC Identifier 300280)

In June 1954, Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was overthrown in a coup that was orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and carried out by the Guatemalan exile Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. Arbenz was targeted in large part because of his land reform policies that affected U.S. companies, namely the United Fruit Company. There was also fear that the Arbenz government was permeated with communists and that Guatemala would one day serve as a Soviet foothold in Latin America.

CIA methods employed in their Guatemalan operations included misinformation campaigns, propaganda distribution, psychological warfare, and sabotage. Assassination of key Guatemalan communists was also considered by the CIA.

Map of PBSUCCESS from Nick Cullather's CIA history of the operation

While much literature has been published regarding the coup and the CIA’s involvement in it, records from the CIA operations supporting the coup tell a story of their own. In 1997 and again in 2003, the CIA performed a historical review of records relating to the coup and determined that certain documents could be released to the public. While many of these documents were redacted, they serve as the best source regarding details of the operations, known each as PBFORTUNE, PBSUCCESS, and PBHISTORY.

Hard copies of the documents released can be found at Archives II in the series “Records Relating to Activities in Guatemala, 1949-1996” (ARC Identifier 6106938) from Record Group 263.

Chart of communications channels from a November 16, 1954 report on PBSUCCESS

Many of these documents are also available online at the CIA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room. However, the series held at Archives II contains oversized maps and map overlays that cannot be found at the CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room.

The CIA often used cryptonyms and pseudonyms in these documents, and explanations of what some of them mean can be found in the Department of State Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) volume on Guatemala. Notable individuals connected to the coup operations include Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala John E. Peurifoy; and CIA staff such as Director Allen Dulles, Richard M. Bissell, Tracy Barnes, Richard Helms, E. Howard Hunt, Walter Bedell Smith, David Atlee Phillips, J.C. King, Hans V. Tofte, and Frank Wisner.

Drawing from an October 1, 1954 summary of PBHISTORY

Three particularly interesting documents can be found in this series:

• A copy of the 1994 text “Operation PBSUCCESS: The United States and Guatemala 1952-1954″ by Nick Cullather, which provides the CIA’s own historical overview of the operation.
• A copy of the 1995 text “CIA and Guatemala Assassination Proposals 1952-1954″ by Gerald K. Haines, which details the extent to which assassination was considered as an operational method.
• A copy of an undated training document entitled “A Study of Assassination” which explains various assassination techniques, presumably considered for use in the assassination of Guatemalan communists. (Made available by the National Security Archive)

Yet these three documents are only the tip of the iceberg for researchers. For those interested in the 1954 Guatemalan coup, or for those interested in historical CIA operations in general, the series “Records Relating to Activities in Guatemala, 1949-1996” (ARC Identifier 6106938) and the CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room are invaluable resources. See what’s online, or come to Archives II to check out the documents for yourself!

RG 66, entry A1-23 Old Georgetown Act Numbered Case Files, folder OG94-88 (ARC 559486)

Last time I wrote here on the Text Message blog, I had written about the Old Georgetown Act Numbered Case Files (ARC 559486), found in Record Group 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts, and highlighted some photographs from the 1950s. The Case Files, show what the area of Georgetown, a neighborhood in Washington, DC, looked like as applicants asked for permission to put up signage or make changes to their properties.

In file OG-94-88 of the Old Georgetown Act Numbered Case Files, the property was a large building on M Street, one of the large commercial corridors that runs through Georgetown. In 1994 when the file was submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts, it contained several photographs of the building. The building was marked with graffiti. Fast forward to the end of 2011, where after many years as a bookstore for a major chain, it closed its doors and in 2012 sits vacant. When the bookstore was open, several floors held books and people and a small coffee shop.

Current view of building at 3040 M St NW

On a recent trip to Georgetown, I took a photo of the former bookstore to compare it to the 1994 photograph found in the file. There are various changes. The streetlights have changed, the newspaper boxes on the street and the big parking sign are gone, the entrance is on the M Street side, the windows do not open, and the paint has been removed. What has appeared are some decorative items on the top of the building, an addition that holds a chain clothing store, and traffic lights. Though, there may have been a traffic light there in 1994, and if there was a light, it was not captured in the photograph. What stays the same is the bus stop where one can take the 30 bus back to the National Archives to look at the file OG 94-88 to see more pictures of this building.

Possible Research

Unfortunately, there isn’t a name or address index at the National Archives, matching the OG file numbers to persons or places. The Commission of Fine Arts or a local historic preservation organization may have that information. A property owner whose property falls within the Georgetown Historic District may find the photographs, building plans, drawings and other file material of interest, particularly if they are planning to make alterations or researching the property.

Business historians may find interest in the series because changes of the commercial corridors can be observed by combing through the files for new or changing signage. I noticed that in the 1990s, the retail store called the Gap, underwent several changes to the font of its signage, changes that are captured in the files. So when a new venture adds a sign to the streetscape to advertise themselves, there is a chance there is an application for that sign in this series.

Today’s post is written by Alan Walker, a processing archivist in Research Services.

Earlier I described to you the Overseas Mission records of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and our project to transform them from the unfortunate and inaccessible state in which they arrived at Archives II.

These records have proven a time-consuming challenge for three reasons: 1.) the disarray and lack of documentation for the accessions; 2.) the large quantity of temporary records found in the accessions; and 3.) the physical condition of the records and their containers.

We process the records for one mission at a time. This involves surveying the contents of each accession for that mission. Very few of these accessions arrived with any sort of documentation as to which offices within the missions created them. Add to this the fact that you will frequently find records of many different offices in a single box. Oh, and did I mention that you will find a bit of records for one office in one box, and then in another accession you’ll find more records for that office? These then need to be arranged and consolidated back into their original order. Two such missions, those for Guatemala and India, have proven particularly monstrous in terms of the sheer volume and disarray of their records.

During the surveys, we have found tremendous quantities of records that never should have arrived at Archives II at all. These are the project case files described in the earlier post. We laboriously identify which boxes (or folders within boxes) of an accession contain such records, then mark them with the appropriate USAID disposition authority gleaned from the USAID records schedule. Finally we consign them to a list of records to be disposed of, and note the cubic footage and their date of disposal in our project spreadsheet and in our Holdings Management System (HMS), our internal records-tracking information system.

All of the original boxes are encrusted with dust (from decades of storage at the Washington National Records Center or at USAID), many are crushed or torn, and many were the victims of zealous personnel who not only taped the boxes, but then wrapped them in kraft paper (or in some cases clear plastic sheeting), taped them again, and then for good measure tied them with twine or applied nylon strapping.  And all of that tape is disintegrating.

As each mission’s records are surveyed, we identify the series they will become. As lead for this aspect of the USAID project, I compile a listing of the series to be processed. Each listing contains the provision series title, with dates; and the constituent accessions and their current shelf locations, with notes on what is found in each accession. I then assign this listing to another staff member who can then “hit the ground running” with the processing.

As we remove the records from these sad receptacles, we also perform the necessary holdings maintenance on them: replacing worn folders and removing the metal fasteners. So far we have filled 10 FRC boxes with the familiar paper clips and Acco fasteners (the two-pronged devices that affix papers onto a folder). That’s a lot of metal (and weight). Doing so protects the records, reduces bulk, and eases the researcher’s task. A necessary undertaking, and one that takes time.

Next comes the intellectual aspect of the processing. Do the records need a folder list? If so, we compile one. Records created after 1962 are usually arranged according to the USAID filing  scheme , but those records predating 1962 will frequently need a folder list created. Some of these records date back to the mid-1940s, predating the existence of USAID, and so must be reallocated to Record Group 469 (which contains records of foreign assistance agencies prior to November 1961, the date of USAID’s establishment). This shows that a processing project is never really completed; it only takes a hiatus. We undertook the systematic processing of Record Group 469 back in 2009.

Finally we update the physical information about the new series (number and type of containers, shelf locations, etc.) in HMS, and create the ARC description for it.

We are on track to “complete” our processing of the mission records by the end of 2012, and barring any complications, we will. You can now see what an involved process it is, for the records you use, to be transformed to that state where they accurately reflect the activities and mission (of the mission!) and are preserved physically and intellectually for generations to come. It’s what we do, and we strive to do it superbly.

Look for more posts about USAID Headquarters in the next few weeks.

Today’s post is written by Alan Walker, a processing archivist in Research Services.

Since 2010, the Record Group 286 Processing Team has been steadily transforming the 11,700 cubic feet of paper records of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) housed here at Archives II. 

A lot of preparation goes into such a massive project (and most of our projects are massive!): proper identification of the records as to their offices of origin, the assemblage of proper accessioning documentation for the records, research into disposition authorities, and identifying and procuring the resources needed (staff and supplies). Then, to cap it off, there is the creation of many spreadsheets to organize and track all of this information. Our project lead, Alfie Paul, has been tireless in organizing this project and in moving it forward.

Unprocessed Records

Planning for this project revealed that the records fall into two categories: those records produced at the headquarters level in Washington, DC (about 7,500 cubic feet), and records produced by the overseas missions of USAID (some 4,200 cubic feet). Each country in which USAID establishes development aid programs hosts a USAID mission, which is usually housed within or near the U.S. Embassy. Program officers and advisors of the mission work with the host country’s government ministries in establishing and monitoring aid programs and overseeing contractors and their projects. The records date from the mid-1940s to the 1990s, with the majority covering the 1960s and 1970s.

What’s in the Records?

Records of the USAID missions include correspondence and memorandums, directives from USAID Headquarters in the form of airgrams and telegrams, and reports and studies from program advisors regarding everything from USAID’s liaison with the host country to the status of specific projects. The records will relate to the administrative affairs of the mission itself (personnel, budgets, procurement) as well as to the funding and monitoring of aid projects.  Here is a link to a description of a typical set of subject files for a USAID mission.

The missions also maintain case files on various aid projects, and forward these case files back to USAID Headquarters, where they are maintained by that mission’s parent regional bureau. But bear in mind that project case files produced by the missions have a finite life span, as indicated in USAID’s records schedule (meaning that they are disposed of after a certain period of time has passed); so you will not find a project file for every project ever undertaken by USAID or its predecessors. However, project case files produced and maintained by the Headquarters bureaus are classified as permanent records. From these you will find much of the same information about aid projects, since the missions forwarded copies of these project records to their parent bureaus.

These records can be a valuable source of information on where our overseas aid dollars go (or don’t go). And they document the delicate relationship between the U.S. Government and foreign governments. You might find a report from a program advisor detailing the misuse of funds or damage to foodstuffs, or a memo from a mission official recounting a frustrating meeting with a foreign government ministry representative. And the records illustrate the necessary procedures, routines, and regulations by which the U.S. Government operates through its intrepid emissaries of the Foreign Service.

Beginning in early 2011, we began processing the Overseas Missions records in earnest. Thus far we have completed (or nearly completed) processing the records for 47 missions of the total of 85 missions we have identified.  In my next post I will outline the challenges we have encountered in processing these records, and how we are transforming them into the records you request and use today.

In 1774, British Parliament implemented the Coercive Acts in response to the destruction of British property by colonists during the Boston Tea Party.  Paul Revere reproduced an engraving from a London newspaper that depicted the relationship between the British government and America, and he circulated it among the colonies.  A copy of this allegorical cartoon can be found at Archives II in College Park as part of Record Group 208: Records of the Office of War Information, 1926-1951, (National Archives Identifier 535720).

There is no denying the fact that during the Revolutionary Period, many significant events that led to war occurred in major cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City for example.  Boston in particular is viewed as an epicenter of colonial rebellion, but there were other New England cities and towns that active patriots called home as well.  Thus, recognizing the participation of colonists from other cities such as Providence should not be such a bitter draught to swallow.

The presence of the Sons of Liberty is clearly palpable by scholars and American History enthusiasts in Massachusetts, but the Sons had multiple chapters throughout the colonies.  Rhode Island was also an active colony where the Sons of Liberty organized and destroyed British property.  Before the Tea Party, there was the Gaspee Affair in 1772.  Members of the Providence Sons of Liberty such as John Brown and Abraham Whipple together with their associates seized the HMS Gaspee, a British customs patrol schooner.  One of the notable members of this motley crew was Rufus Greene, cousin of the soon to be Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene.  Rufus Greene had history with the Royal Navy because the crew of the HMS Gaspee assaulted him when they apprehended Nathanael Greene’s ship, the Fortune.  Nathanael Greene wrote about his loss to a friend saying that he was “engageed in the pursuit of a Searover who took into his Custody a quantity of Our Rum and carried it round to Boston (contrary to the Express words of the Statute) for Tryal and condemnation. The illegality of his measure together with the Loss sustaind createed such a Spirit of Resentment That I have devoted almost the whole of my Time in devising and carrying into execution measures for the recovery of my Property and punnishing the offender.” (177204 NG to SW Jr., The Papers of General Nathanael Greene)  The Greene’s sued the Captain of the Gaspee for losses and damages which forced him to travel back and forth between Boston and Greenwich for an extended period of time.

The colonists burned the HMS Gaspee in retaliation against the Royal Navy’s enforcement of customs laws in Rhode Island ports.  More insight on British colonial maritime and customs laws may be found in General Records, compiled 1757 – 1772 (National Archives Identifier 4545843), Series from Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 – 2004, which discusses parliamentary acts that address “the better prevention of Piracies and Robberies by Crews of private ships of war” and letters to government officials containing complaints about violation of trade law. This series contains mostly New York records, but the documents stating parliamentary law are relevant to multiple regions.

This act of organized mob violence by the Sons of Liberty off the coast of Rhode Island set the precedent for future violent protests in the colonies such as the Boston Tea Party, because it demonstrated the capabilities of American resistance. For more information about the naval mobilization of American colonists and to learn more about the naval career development of the raiders of the Gaspee see Letters Received by the Committee of Safety of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, compiled 12/01/1914 – 12/01/1914, documenting the period 03/1775 – 05/1775 (National Archives Identifier 1766789), Series from Record Group 45: Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, 1691 – 1945 and Correspondence of the Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy, compiled 1919? – 1947?, documenting the period 10/1775 – 10/1777 (National Archives Identifier 1766790), Series from Record Group 45: Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, 1691 – 1945.