January 3, 1938 - The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR contracted polio in 1921 at the age of 39, and was paralyzed from the waist down. For the rest of his life, FDR was committed to finding a way to rehabilitate himself as well as others afflicted with infantile paralysis.
In 1938, FDR created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. To increase awareness of the campaign, radio personality and philanthropist Eddie Cantor took to the air waves and urged Americans to send their loose change to President Roosevelt in “a march of dimes to reach all the way to the White House.”
Soon, millions of dimes flooded the White House. In 1945, the annual March of Dimes campaign raised 18.9 million dollars for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Ultimately, the March of Dimes (as the National Foundation became known) financially supported the research and development of a polio vaccine by Jonas Salk in 1955, eradicating the disease throughout most of the world by the 1960s.
Pictured: FDR’s 1936 Ford Phaeton featured hand controls that enabled him to drive without the use of his legs.
Our colleagues at Congress in the Archives just reached 20,000 followers! Be sure to follow them if you don’t already!
A great start to the new year!
We’ve reached over 20,000 followers! As a special thank-you to all of you congressional history wonks, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite posts over the past year. Thanks for all of your Tumblr love, and Happy New Year!
Memorial of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
Photograph of the wreckage of U.S. destroyers in Pearl Harbor
FBI Wanted Poster of John Dillinger
Photograph of Union Street Car Line After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
Welcome to the Union, Alaska!
Presidential Proclamation 3269 of January 3, 1959, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower admitting the State of Alaska into the Union., 01/03/1959
Did you miss our Alaskan photoset from last year’s anniversary?
Some highlights from our commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation’s 150th anniversary:
On New Year’s Eve, over 4,000 people saw this important document. Then, on January 1, 2013, the National Archives celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation with special guests, songs, and a stamp.
If you didn’t see it this time, stay tuned. Although its display time is limited each year, the document does travel to other venues, and it will be on display here again.
You can learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation and related documents in our free eBook, available to download for iPad, iPad, Android, and other eReaders: http://www.archives.gov/publications/ebooks/
Petition and map from John Muir and other founders of Sierra Club protesting a bill to reduce the size of Yosemite National Park. 01/02/1893
This document is the first official conservation pronouncement of the then-nascent Sierra Club, a petition to Congress protesting the Caminetti bill (H.R. 5764), proposed in 1892 to protect mining, livestock, and timber interests by reducing the size of the newly established Yosemite National Park. Ultimately, the Caminetti bill died in committee.
via DocsTeach
And…it’s over! After three whirlwind days, the Emancipation Proclamation is safely back in the vault, waiting for the next time it goes on display. But on January 1, 2013, it was the center of attention, with special guests celebrating its 150th anniversary.
But if you didn’t see it this time, stay tuned. Although its display time is limited each year, the document does travel to other venues, and it will be on display here again.
You can learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation and related documents in our free eBook, available to download for iPad, iPad, Android, and other eReaders: http://www.archives.gov/publications/ebooks/
By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence [sic]; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord
[SEAL]
one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.
It’s excited to see the long line of people outside the National Archives waiting to see the Emancipation Proclamation on its 150th anniversary! Hopefully the line is moving quickly now.
Have you see the Emancipation Proclamation in person?
As part of the 150th commemoration, there are extended viewing hours until 1 am on New Years Eve!
Happy Holidays! Haven’t found a costume for that costume ball yet? Perhaps our Red Cross Nurses Uniform Hats from WWI may inspire you in time to craft a dazzling look for a party tonight.
This inaugural post begins our Red Cross Uniform Preservation Project posts that will show the preservation of Red Cross nurses hats.
This pilot rehousing effort is part of a larger project provides support and custom boxes for Red Cross Nurses.
Hats… and Bags… and Shoes, Oh my!
This remarkable photograph shows the then oldest living ex-slave, Mrs. Sally Fickland, viewing the Emancipation Proclamation in the Freedom Train at Philadelphia, on September 17, 1947. This moving image reminds us of the importance of exhibition lighting policies to control both the intensity and duration of light exposure. The National Archives carefully limits the light exposure of this landmark document to ensure that it survives for future generations to see. Emancipation Proclamation, RG 11, ARC # 299998.
The National Archives is commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation with a special display of the original document at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, from Sunday, December 30, to Tuesday, January 1. This will include extended viewing hours, inspirational music, a dramatic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, and family activities and entertainment for all ages.
On December 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia into the Union. This petition in favor of admission was received by Congress in 1862.
Petition from citizens of Monongalia County, requesting admission of West Virginia into the Union, 1862, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 306643)
Erecting the Capitol dome
Although President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, construction of current dome did not begin until 1856. The dome, which replaced an earlier one made of copper and wood, took a decade to complete and cost just over one million dollars to build. This photograph was taken from the east side of the national
landmark on December 31, 1857.
Photograph of the Construction on the New U.S. Capitol Dome, 12/31/1857
via DocsTeach
16 Inch Disappearing Carriage Model 1917 under Construction, 12/30/1920
Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance
A 16 inch Disappearing Carriage Model 1917 artillery piece under construction at the Watertown Arsenal in Watertown, Massachusetts. A major military arsenal since the early 1800s, the site of the Watertown Arsenal has since been converted to civilian use and now houses a shopping mall and office park.
The Java in a Sinking state, set fire to, & Blowing up. The Constitution at a distance… repairing her Rigging &c. in the Evening of 29th December, 1812.
Copy of aquatint by N. Pocock, engraved by R. & D. Havell after sketch by Lieutenant Buchanan, 1814.
200 years ago today, USS Constitution defeated the HMS Java after a 3 hour engagement, her second major victory of the war following the battle with HMS Guerriere in August earlier that year.
Happy Birthday President Woodrow Wilson!
(December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924)
The Prosperity Painter, 01/30/1915
“The Prosperity Painter”, by cartoonist Clifford Berryman, which appeared in the Washington Evening Star on January 30, 1915, depicts President Woodrow Wilson as a painter of prosperity while the economy continued to boom in America as war raged in Europe.