Prologue: Pieces of History

In 1939, President Roosevelt donated his personal and Presidential papers to the Federal Government, marking the beginning of the modern Presidential Library system that is part of the National Archives. Seventy-four years later, the newest Presidential Library holds more documents than FDR could have imagined. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum holds more [...]

“I do believe before the day was over he did ask me to marry him and I thought he was just out of his mind.” Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor Two teenagers in love might exchange hundreds of texts on their phones. But during their two-and-a-half month courtship, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Claudia Alta “Lady [...]

We waded into your captions like a man driving a car into a lake! How to choose between splashy captions that referenced Secret Service men wearing floaties, the Aflac duck, James Bond, or water taxis? Waterlogged with indecision, we turned to Liza Talbot, who in turn turned to the crew of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. [...]

Who knew that the “LB” in LBJ stood for “light bulb”? Apparently, quite a few of you! We were buzzing with excitement after reading your captions, and we needed to ground ourselves. So we turned to our guest judge, Liza Talbot, who is an archivist at the Johnson Presidential Library and the mastermind behind the [...]

The U.S. Capitol under construction, 1860 (National Archives Identifier 530494) As a new year begins, the 112th Congress reconvenes for a second session of legislative activity. Representatives and senators from across the country are again descending upon the Capitol, ready to commence debates, proceedings, and hearings. This is how the legislative branch of the Federal Government [...]