Happy Birthday Waldo!

This is the birthday of Waldo Gifford Leland, born this day in 1879 in Newton, Massachusetts.  He was a historian with careers at the Carnegie Institution and the Library of Congress, and played an important role in the creation of the National Archives. Leland’s portrait hangs among those of the previous Archivists of the United … Continue reading Happy Birthday Waldo!

Happy Fourth of July!

In 1776 when John Adams was envisioning future celebrations of the Declaration of Independence he said: “It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End … Continue reading Happy Fourth of July!

A New Deal for a New Generation

On the last day of June of 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood at the entrance to his library in Hyde Park, New York—the first of the Presidential Libraries—and dedicated it to the American people with these words: “It seems to me that the dedication of a library is in itself an act of faith. To … Continue reading A New Deal for a New Generation