Prologue: Pieces of History

The 16th Amendment and the first Internal Revenue Bureau Form 1040 will be on display from April 1 to April 30 at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Today’s guest post comes to us from education and exhibit specialist Michael Hussey.

“Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever sources derived, without apportionment among the several states and without regard to any census or enumeration.” 16th Amendment to the Constitution

Joint congressional resolution proposing the 16th Amendment to the states, July 12, 1909, National Archives, General Records of the United States Government

Each April, millions of Americans stay up late, snap pencils, and double-check their math as they complete their Federal income tax returns.  This year marks the centennial of the constitutional amendment that made this a yearly ritual.

The Civil War prompted the first American income tax, a flat 3 percent on all annual incomes over $800, in 1861. Congress enacted a 2-percent tax on annual income over $4,000 in 1894, but it was quickly struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

By the early 20th century, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties advocated a constitutional amendment allowing a Federal income tax. On July 12, 1909, Congress passed a joint congressional resolution proposing such an amendment. The resolution was then sent to the states for consideration. By February 3, 1913, three-quarters of the states—the number required by the Constitution for ratification—had approved it. Certified by Secretary of State Philander C. Knox on February 25, 1913, it then became the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

In 1913, due to exemptions and deductions, less than 1 percent of the population paid income taxes. Tax rates began at 1 percent and rose to 6 percent on income over $500,000.

The first Internal Revenue Bureau Form 1040, as provided by Public Law 63-16, was approved October 3, 1913.

Page 1 of the first Internal Revenue Bureau Form 1040, National Archives, General Records of the Department of the Treasury

In honor of Opening Day for the 2013 baseball season, we’ve put together this gallery of baseball-related photos, documents, and artifacts from the holdings of the 13 Presidential Libraries of the National Archives. This summary of Presidential baseball history was compiled by James Kratsas, Deputy Director at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. This post originally appeared on the White House blog.

And you can read about even more baseball history in the National Archives in our new, free eBook!

Dwight D. Eisenhower gets ready to throw out the first baseball of the season at a game between the New York Yankees and Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. To the right of Eisenhower are Senators manager Bucky Harris and Yankees manager Casey Stengel. 4/13/54.

Our national pastime and our nation’s leaders have shared a unique relationship for some 150 years. Presidents throwing out first pitches or hosting World Series winners at the White House are familiar images from each baseball season.

The connection between Presidents and baseball stretches back as far as Abraham Lincoln. According to research conducted for the 1939 Major League Baseball Centennial Celebration, Lincoln was playing baseball in Springfield, Illinois, when he was informed that the Chicago Republican Convention had nominated him as the Presidential candidate. Lincoln is reported to have responded, “They will have to wait a few minutes until I get my next turn at bat.” A year later when he arrived at the White House in 1861, baseball’s popularity had caught on in Washington, DC. As President, Lincoln is said to have played baseball on the White House lawn.

Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, was such a fan that he received numerous honorary memberships from many teams on the East Coast. Chester Arthur remarked, “Good ball players make Good Citizens,” and Grover Cleveland was the first to invite a championship team—the 1886 Chicago White Stockings—to the White House. Benjamin Harrison was the first sitting President to attend a big league game: the Cincinnati Reds pitted against the Washington Senators in 1892.

The sport’s popularity grew in the 20th century. Teddy Roosevelt attended games, but it was William Howard Taft who began the tradition of tossing out the first pitch in 1910—a tradition that carries on today.

Some Presidents, like Harry Truman, studied the game so intently that they were considered experts. This was certainly the case with Richard Nixon, whose love and knowledge of the game resulted in an offer to become head of the Major League Players Union in the 1960s. Rather than accept, he chose to continue on in his political career, but he remained an avid follower of the game. As young men, Dwight D. Eisenhower excelled at baseball in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas, and George Bush was the captain of the Yale baseball team during his college years.

George Bush, captain of the Yale baseball team, receives Babe Ruth’s autobiography. Babe Ruth was donating the manuscript to Yale. 1948.

Important events from our nation’s past are also intertwined with the history of baseball. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis grew concerned about proceeding with the 1942 baseball season. President Roosevelt promptly responded to Landis’s inquiry with the “Green Light Letter,” giving baseball his approval to proceed and acknowledging the value of the game in time of war. Landis’s signed copy of Roosevelt’s Green Light Letter is now at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Baseball is forever bound to the American Presidency. Whether meeting All-Stars in the Oval Office or relaxing in the stands with their fellow citizens, our Presidents have confirmed baseball as our national pastime.

In honor of Opening Day for the 2013 baseball season, we’ve put together this gallery of baseball-related photos, documents, and artifacts from the holdings of the 13 Presidential Libraries of the National Archives.

Play ball!

Herbert Hoover throws out the baseball on opening day. President Hoover is accompanied by his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, and members of his Cabinet. 4/15/29.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s World War II “Green Light Letter” to Commissioner (and District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois) Kenesaw M. Landis. 1/15/42.

Harry S. Truman throws out the first ball of the 1947 baseball season at Washington's Griffith Stadium. Fleet Admiral William Leahy, Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith, Washington Senators manager Ossie Bluege, and New York Yankees manager Bucky Harris look on. 4/18/47.

Lyndon B. Johnson throws out the first baseball at the opening day game between the Washington Senators and New York Yankees. Senator John Pastore and Senator Edmund Muskie are on LBJ’s right, and Postmaster General Lawrence O’Brien can be seen behind LBJ’s coat. Senator Margaret Chase Smith is behind LBJ. 4/10/67

This 1935 baseball pass (number 1) gave Franklin D. Roosevelt admission to all the parks of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. The pass was presented to President Roosevelt at the White House on April 13, 1935, by Ford Frick, President of the National Baseball League, and American League player Clark Griffith.

This 1979 American League of Professional Baseball Clubs annual pass to all parks was given to Jimmy Carter.

Richard Nixon at the Washington Senators versus the New York Yankees baseball game on Opening Day. 4/6/69.

This New York Mets World Champions 1969 set was presented to Richard Nixon. It contains a diamond ring and gold charms, Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets passes for the President and Mrs. Nixon from the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, and official baseballs from the American and National League autographed by the players of both teams.

Gerald R. Ford walks with Darrell Johnson, manager of the Boston Red Sox, and George "Sparky" Anderson, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, before the start of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 7/13/76.

Ronald Reagan was a WHO Radio Announcer in Des Moines, Iowa. Ca. 1934. As part of his broadcasts he would call Chicago Cubs and White Sox games.

President Reagan in the press box with Harry Caray during a Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. 9/30/88.

When he became President, George Bush kept his well-worn first baseman's mitt from Yale oiled and ready in a desk drawer in the Oval Office.

First Ladies have also had the honor of tossing out ceremonial first pitches. Barbara Bush throws the ceremonial first pitch of a Texas Rangers baseball game in Dallas. 5/5/89.

William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton play catch in the Rose Garden. They are practicing for upcoming opening pitch ceremonies that both of them will participate in. 4/3/94.

Baltimore Orioles player Cal Ripken autographs a baseball bat for President Clinton after Ripken broke the consecutive game streak at 2,131 games. 9/6/95.

George W. Bush presents Angel Tavarez of the Cramer Hill Little League Red Sox from Camden, New Jersey, with a baseball after the opening game of the 2008 Tee Ball on the South Lawn. Roberto Clemente, Jr., and Dugout the Little League mascot joined President Bush on the field. 6/30/08.

In 2001, George W. Bush and Laura Bush hosted “Tee Ball on the South Lawn.” This player from the Cramer Hill Little League Red Sox of Camden, New Jersey, was photographed after playing with his teammates against the Jose M. Rodriguez Little League Angels of Manati, Puerto Rico.

Opening Day of the 2013 Baseball Season is this Sunday! What better way to celebrate than to crack open some peanuts, download our free eBook “Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives,” and grow a luxuriant mustache in honor of President Taft.

Taft is the newest addition to the Nationals Racing Presidents.The 27th President is well-known for his size and his bushy white mustache. He was the last President to sport facial hair while in office.

Did his luxuriant mustache give him an edge in the search for a new mascot? Of the five Presidents represented, facial hair adorns three of their outsized noggins.  Lincoln has a beard, Teddy Roosevelt has a mustache, and now Taft has joined the crew with a mustache of his own. The only clean-shaven mascots are Washington and Jefferson.

While the mustache may have tipped the scales in Taft’s favor, Nationals management may have also wanted to honor Taft for his role in baseball history.

This screen grab from the 2007 White House website of President George W. Bush shows President Taft throwing the first pitch. The site was “frozen in time” at noon on January 20, 2009, as President Barack Obama took the oath of office. It is archived on servers with National Archives-affiliated archives at the University of North Texas.

Taft was the first (and remains the only) former President to become a Supreme Court justice. But before he was on the bench, he was in the game! Taft was the first President to throw out the first ball of the baseball season.

On April 14, 1910, Taft threw a pitch to Walter Johnson, Opening Day pitcher for the Washington Senators. On April 15, Taft’s image was splashed across the sports pages. Since then, the Presidential pitch has been an American tradition.

Baseball and facial hair have some other historic connections! Lincoln was said to have been playing baseball in Springfield, Illinois, when he was informed that the Chicago Republican Convention had nominated him as the Presidential candidate. Supposedly Lincoln replied, “They will have to wait a few minutes until I get my next turn at bat.”

Impress your friends and family with your historic knowledge of baseball! Download our free eBook “Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives” for your iPad, iPhone, Android, or other eReader.

And watch for a special post on Presidents and baseball over on the White House blog.

Today’s guest post comes from Margaret Powell, MA, a decorative arts historian from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her areas of concentration are textile and costume history. She is a graduate of the Smithsonian Associates–Corcoran College of Art and Design History of Decorative Arts Masters Program.

Photo of Jacqueline Kennedy in her wedding gown in the December 1966 issue of Ebony Magazine

On September 13, 1953, the New York Times featured the wedding of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier on the front page. The article contained a photograph of the bride’s intricate gown and a detailed description of its “ivory silk taffeta, embellished with interwoven bands of tucking, finished with a portrait neckline and a bouffant skirt.” The only thing missing from the coverage was the name of Ann Lowe, the dress designer.

Even today, as the Kennedy wedding gown resides in the permanent collection of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, very few people realize that this dress is the work of an African American designer. It is no novelty or a fluke—it is just one example of the countless designs created by Lowe for the Auchincloss family between 1947 and 1957. In fact, when Jacqueline’s stepsister Nina appeared in a 1955 fashion editorial in Vogue, she was wearing an Ann Lowe debut dress.

Nina Auchincloss in an Ann Lowe dress in the August 1, 1955, issue of Vogue

Ann Lowe’s story is remarkable. With little more than a few years of education in the segregated schools of turn-of-the-century Alabama, sewing lessons from her mother and grandmother, and encouragement from her early clients, Lowe became a designing powerhouse. She learned her craft in her family’s custom dress shop in Alabama and then moved to Florida in 1916, where she quickly became a premier custom dressmaker.

Her success in outfitting the debutantes of Tampa for their weddings and fancy dress balls allowed Lowe to move to Manhattan in the fall of 1927. “I just knew that if I could come to New York and make dresses for society people,” she said in an 1966 Oakland Tribune interview, “my dreams would be fulfilled.”

Lowe designed dresses for other fashion houses at first, throughout the Great Depression and World War II, but by 1950 she was working steadily at her own Madison Avenue dress salon. Her elegant work was embraced by members of the Social Register, and in 1957 the New York Times celebrated Lowe as an expert in the field “who has been turning out impeccably dressed debutantes for twenty years, and charges up to $500 for her custom-made evening stunners.” Lowe’s gowns appeared with proper credit in Vogue, Vanity Fair. and Town and Country magazines throughout the 1950s and 1960s. After closing her shop for financial reasons in 1960, she became a featured designer at the prestigious Adam Room at Saks Fifth Avenue. Lowe reopened her salon in 1964.

Ann Lowe in the December 1966 issue of Ebony Magazine

During a 1965 appearance on the Mike Douglas Show, Lowe explained that the driving force behind her work was not a quest for fame or fortune but a desire “to prove that a Negro can become a major dress designer.”

Lowe was also inspired by a true love for couture design and her lifelong exposure to custom dressmaking. “I feel so happy when I am making clothes,” she explained in the Oakland Tribune interview, “that I could just jump up and down with joy.”

Lowe’s dresses were important to her. “I like for my dresses to be admired,” she told the Saturday Evening Post in 1964. “I like to hear about it—the oohs and ahs as they come into the ballroom. Like when someone tells me, ‘the Ann Lowe dresses were doing all of the dancing at the cotillion last night.’ That’s what I like to hear.”

Through the highs and lows of her groundbreaking career, Lowe continued to live simply, wearing her own designs and focusing on her work in her modest Harlem apartment until her retirement in 1972.

The Kennedy wedding dress is part of the permanent holdings of the JFK Presidential Museum and Library. Other Ann Lowe creations are now part of the Smithsonian in the holdings of the Museum of African American History.

Today’s post comes from Christopher Abraham at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. He answers a question each week on Facebook. This week’s Ask an Archivist query comes from Kansas.

“Did Knute Rockne ever box Dwight D. Eisenhower? I heard that this took place in Abilene, Kansas, around 1913.” – Anonymous

We have heard this story before. The legend goes that Rockne, who would later gain fame as a football coach for Notre Dame, traveled the country as an exhibition boxer and took on a young Dwight D. Eisenhower in Abilene. Rockne then attempted to convince him to become a professional boxer.

Unfortunately for presidential and sports historians, this event never took place.

This photograph shows Cadet Eisenhower kicking a football at West Point while NOT being coached by Knute Rockne (Eisenhower Presidential Library).

In a 1947 letter to his former aide Harry Butcher, Eisenhower wrote “There is no truth whatsoever in the story about Knute Rockne trying to interest me in a professional boxer’s career. The people who got that story started took two or three little different incidents, put them all together into a single story, and came up with some weird and wonderful ideas.”

Ann Whitman, the president’s personal secretary, wrote in 1956 that, “the President says there is not a word of truth in this–-and that he never met Knute Rockne until he was grown up.”

Library staff answer every reference question we receive, but not all questions will be posted to Ask an Archivist. Questions will be edited for length and privacy. If you would like to ask a question, please contact us!