Today’s post comes from Peter A. Shulman, Assistant Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University. In 2011 he held the inaugural Legislative Archives Fellowship at the National Archives.  The National Archives is now accepting applications for the 2012 Fellowship position.  For an application and more information, please visit the Center for Legislative Archives.

I’d spent a lot of time at the National Archives before learning that (a) the records of Congress are housed there and (b) those records might be very valuable to my research. I’m grateful that I did, as it led last year to working in the collection as a Legislative Archives fellow.

My book examines how Americans came to think about energy in terms of security and the national interest. Many historians have written about the emergence of energy politics and the importance of energy, particularly oil, to national defense. But these works usually begin with the widespread adoption of oil fuel in the early twentieth century. It turns out that since the 1840s, Americans have been very concerned with the security dimensions of coal, both for domestic defense as well as projecting American influence around the world. My research connects these histories, exploring how the long nineteenth century experience with coal shaped how Americans dealt with oil in the century that followed.

Until last year, I had focused my research on the activities of Navy Department, the branch of government most concerned with securing both fuel and national defense, and all those Americans who advocated in its name. But once I began working among congressional records, I found the Washington that is familiar to those who have lived and worked there. It was complicated, contradictory, and chaotic, its own community and also connected in thousands of ways to the rest of the country. I realized I could not begin to tell this story without understanding what was going on in the House and Senate.

There were letters of engineers asking Congress for compensation when their inventions were adopted in the steam engines of government vessels. Other correspondence pushed Congress to investigate or adopt particular innovations. There were packets of documents debating legislation, and in which I found the unexpected connections between technological change and subjects as diverse as postal policy, Chinese exclusion, and the nineteenth century peace movement. There were reams of testimony, like on why to annex Hawaii as a coaling station. There were boxes of evidence gathered in investigations, as on east Asian communication policy and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. There were the final drafts of committee reports, marked up with changes by their authors and on their way to becoming part of the familiar serial set. And most strikingly, there were innumerable petitions and memorials, some signed by single individuals and others by thousands, each asking Congress to pass some bill, change some policy, or provide some relief. Here was the heart of the conversation Americans have with their government.

“Highly Important Improvement in Ocean Steam Navigation and Every Purpose of Steam,” 1860; Committee on Naval Affairs; Petitions and Memorials Referred to Committees (HR 36A-G12.2); 36th Congress; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Records Group 233; National Archives, Washington, DC.

What surprised me most about working in the Center’s collections wasn’t that I found tons of useful documents (after all, my hope for these discoveries was why I applied for the fellowship in the first place)—but that what I found has helped reframe my own understanding of this project. I had expected congressional documents to complement my earlier research; instead, in many instances, the actions of Congress have become the center of the story.

Along the way, I had the constant support of the Center’s staff—people who know this collection inside and out. I began making connections with the historians working in both the House and Senate. At a colloquium presentation, I received invaluable feedback from scholars in and out of the federal government. It was a privilege to hold the first Legislative Archives fellowship, and I look forward to learning of the fruits of future scholars plumbing the depths of this extraordinary collection.

Today’s post comes from Stephanie Greenhut, Education Technology Specialist, in the Education and Public Programs division.

Today we announced the release of the DocsTeach App for iPad, extending the dynamic learning opportunities available from the DocsTeach.org website to iPad users.

Using the app, you can choose a topic, such as “Civics & Government” or “Postwar U.S. 1945 – early 1970s,” and challenge yourself with a DocsTeach activity to interact with stories, events, and ideas of the past. All activities are based on primary source documents from the holdings of the National Archives, such as the U.S. Constitution, the canceled check for the purchase of Alaska, and Thomas Edison’s patent drawing for the light bulb. The activities were created by the National Archives education team and an army of DocsTeach users.

On the DocsTeach website, you can discover thousands of primary sources and learning activities related to history and government. Since the National Archives and the Foundation for the National Archives launched DocsTeach.org for the education community in September 2010, over 15,000 teachers, parents, and school administrators have joined. As registered users, they can borrow from and modify an ever-expanding collection of activities, and create new ones using the online tools. DocsTeach activities help their students practice historical thinking by: focusing on details, making connections, finding a sequence, mapping history, weighing the evidence, and seeing the big picture. Once teachers have logged into DocsTeach.org, they can create one or more classrooms full of activities, then share the classrooms’ auto generated codes with students to access through the DocsTeach App on their iPads.

To see how “Classroom Codes” work, try the American Revolution classroom we created with activities that support the exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, currently on display at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, through May 6. After downloading the app to your iPad, enter code fnv926!

As a little girl, I was fascinated by the tragic side of history – assassinations, kidnappings, earthquakes, floods, and other disasters.  I was a very cheerful child.

One of the tragedies that still holds my interest today is that of the Titanic.  100 years later, people are still fascinated by stories about the Titanic and her crew and passengers, 1,514 of whom died on her ill-fated maiden voyage.  Those stories are detailed in the records about the tragedy, some of which are in the holdings of the National Archives.  This Tag It Tuesday, we invite you to embark on the Titanic Tagging Mission that is featured on the Citizen Archivist Dashboard.

Here is one of the images that is included in the mission:

Photograph of a Lifeboat Carrying Titanic Survivors, 05/14/1912 (NAI 278337)

Some possible tags that you can add are “Titanic,” “lifeboat,” “survivors,” “sinking,” “iceberg,” or “S.O.S.”  Or you might want to examine the manifest of alien passengers on board the R.M.S. Carpathia and tag the record with the names of passengers to help improve searchability.

If you have suggestions about records that you would like to see featured on Tag It Tuesdays, please email us at search@nara.gov.

Due to popular demand, we’re offering additional 1940 Census workshops at the National Archives Building in DC next week. Join us every day at 3 pm in Room G-25. We’ll discuss various ways you can get started with the 1940 Census. Each session will be approximately 30 minutes long.

For those of you outside the DC area, NARA staff members are hosting 1940 census lectures in locations around the country.  View the lecture schedule and more information on our website: http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/workshops.html

Yesterday we made additional updates to the 1940 census site to correct issues with printing and downloading.  I am please to write that researchers are able to search, view, browse, print, and download images as of midnight on April 4th.

Demand on the site was almost three times higher yesterday morning than on April 2nd and we maintained the site performance throughout the day.

We share your frustrations with searching for the 1940 census during the last couple of days and appreciate your patience as we have worked with Archives.com to improve site performance.

I will continue to post updates for you here on NARAtions.

We apologize for the problems you encountered with the 1940 census web site yesterday.  We share your frustration.   There was extraordinary demand for the 1940 census records, with over 37 million hits in the first 7 hours on April 2nd.

From coast to coast the National Archives is celebrating the 1940 census next week with events and workshops.  We hope you will join us!

The National Archives at Boston will be offering a program called “The 1940 Census is Here Today!” on April 2nd.  Please email them at boston.archives@nara.gov for more information.

The National Archives at New York is holding an open house on April 2  See the full schedule of events on their web site.  Please email them at newyork.archives@nara.gov to register.

If you are in Philadelphia, make sure to look up at the crown lights on the PECO building which will be celebrating the 1940 census! The National Archives at Philadelphia will host an opening day party on April 2 from 8:30-4:45 (ET).  Drop in for refreshments, balloons, and raffles.

The National Archives at Atlanta will have a 1940 census workshop on Saturday, April 7th at 10 AM (ET).  Email them at atlanta.archives@nara.gov for more information.

Our staff at the National Archives in Chicago are also hosting a reception on April 2nd.  To learn more, email them at chicago.archives@nara.gov

If you are in Kansas City you can attend “Introduction to the 1940 Census” at 10 AM (CT) or 2 PM (CT) on April 2nd. If you can’t make the workshops on April 2nd, they will also be held on April 5th.  To register, please email the National Archives at Kansas City at kansascity.archives@nara.gov

In Texas, the National Archives at Fort Worth has a busy week of programs planned.  On April 2nd they are celebrating with an opening day event beginning at 7:45 (CT) with remarks from Gabriel Sanchez, Regional Director of the Dallas Regional Office of the Census Bureau and Meg Hacker, Archives Director.  At 9 AM and 2 PM there will be “Enumeration District Training.” And at noon there will be a talk by Paula Wright of the Dallas Regional Office of the Census Bureau.  April 3-6 the National Archives will have “Enumeration District Training” each day at 9:00 AM (CT) and 2:00 PM (CT) with other programs held each day at noon.  For more information, please email fortworth.archives@nara.gov

The National Archives at Denver is having an open house on April 2nd.  Email them at denver.archives@nara.gov for more information.

At the National Archives in San Francisco there will be an open house at 8:30 AM (PT) until noon.

For events happening at the National Archives in Washington, DC, please see our blog post from earlier this week.

We hope to see you next week as we celebrate the opening of the 1940 census at http://1940census.archives.gov at 9:00 AM (ET) on April 2nd!

Just one week until the 1940 Census Release! We know you’ve been counting down (so have we!), and some of you may still be wondering how best to use these records once they are available.

The National Archives will host a series of workshops during the first week of the 1940 Census release, April 2 – April 6.  If you’re in Washington, DC, stop by and get some tips to help you navigate these exciting records. Here is the workshop schedule:

*All lectures will take place in Room G-25, at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

*Each session of “Tips for Searching the 1940 Census” will last approximately 30 minutes.

Happy searching!

We hope that you will be able to join us for the next meeting of the National Archives Researcher Forum.  It will be held on Friday, May 18, at 1:00 p.m. in G-25, the new classroom in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC (Archives I).  NARA’s digitization partners will return for continued discussion of the digitization of archival records, begun at the September 16 forum.

Today’s post comes from Senior Archivist Bob Coren.

There are some recent and upcoming changes that impact both National Archives researchers and staff.

1. The Help Us Protect the Records – Orientation for Researchers at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) presentation is now available on the Archives.gov website.

• This online presentation is identical to the presentation that new and renewing Research Card applicants view as part of the Research Card application process at NARA facilities.
• You can view the slideshow online in the Research Room Getting Started section.

We have provided this presentation online to give researchers information in advance of these requirements for using original Federal records and Presidential materials:

• NARA security procedures
• Research Room rules and procedures
• Safe ways to handle records

2. In April, the content on the computers in the National Archives Research Rooms throughout the National Archives is changing to match Archives.gov.
• This means the URL will change from http://www.nara.gov/research_rooms to http://www.archives.gov/research
• Names of NARA’s offices are being standardized and similar changes are being made site-wide to reflect the concept of One NARA.

The benefits of this change are:

• Gives researchers access to the same content at any computer
• Ensures consistent layout, content, and global messages
• Provides single access to the Researcher Orientation slideshow
• Meets the OMB.gov reform initiative to limit domains

3. On April 2, 2012 at 9:00 a.m., the National Archives releases the 1940 Census.

• To prepare for the 1940 Census release, bookmark http://1940census.archives.gov